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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



POLEMIC CHAT 



BY 



EDMUND M. DUNNE 



BISHOP OF PEORIA 



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ST. LOUIS, MO., 1912 

Published by B. Herder 

17 South Broadway 



Freiburg (Baden) 
Germany 



68, Great Russell Str. 
London, W. C. 



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Copyright, 1912, by Joseph Gummersbach 



©CLA32878B 



FOREWORD 



As indicated by the title, this brochure is professedly po- 
lemic. Its aim is the refutation of a few popular fallacies 
regarding religious truth. Most of the chapters have already 
appeared in the Peoria Cathedral Calendar. The dialogue, 
while imaginary in spots, is largely the reproduction of con- 
versations that actually occurred between individuals whose 
names have been thinly disguised or entirely changed so as to 
avoid embarrassment. 

We have taken the liberty of placing Fr. Michaels in charge 
of St. Anne's parish, Mackinac, with due apologies to the 
esteemed rector of that congregation. Our polemist might have 
been assigned just as easily to a pastorate in Madagascar, Capri 
or Timbuctoo; but then he would be too far away to awaken 
interest. The fact is that with our strong predilection for that 
fascinating emerald gem in a setting of turquoise water, Mack- 
inac Island, on which we spent many a pleasant vacation, we 
simply could not resist domiciling him there and thus giving 1 a 
local tinge to our narrative. 

The experiences of Fr. Michaels are by no means unique. 
Far more thrilling incidents happen, we presume, to the aver- 
age priest in the ordinary routine of his daily life. 

If the perusal of these pages be instrumental in bringing a 
single stray sheep into the one true fold and to the practice of 
the one true religion, we shall feel amply compensated. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Participation in False Worship . i 

II Evil of Mixed Marriages 7 

III Divorce 15 

IV A Prospective Convert 20 

V Religious Indifference 25 

VI One True Religion . ...... .31 

VII Nuptial Mass 35 

VIII Catholic Education 41 

IX Secret Societies 46 

X Index of Prohibited Books 51 

XI Existence of God 56 

XII The Most Holy Trinity 61 

XIII Divinity of Christ . 66 

XIV The Redemption 71 

XV The Blessed Virgin 75 

XVI Fallacy of Christian Science .... 80 

XVII Confession 85 

XVIII The Holy Eucharist 90 

XIX Symbolism of Vestments and Ceremonies . 95 

XX Cremation 100 

XXI Predestination ......... 106 

XXII Existence of Hell no 

XXIII Capital Punishment 114 

XXIV Necessity of Religion 118 

XXV Gambling 122 

XXVI Dancing 127 

XXVII The Theatre . .131 

XXVIII Woman Suffrage 135 

XXIX Catholic Priesthood 140 

XXX A Catholic (?) Socialist 144 

XXXI Vocation 149 



POLEMIC CHAT 

CHAPTER I 

PARTICIPATION IN FALSE WORSHIP 

'Twas a glorious summer morning on the Island of Mack- 
inac. Not a cloud in the sky, nor scarcely a ripple on the 
broad expanse of water, which was dotted here and there with 
small sailing craft evidently marooned, owing to the stillness 
of the atmosphere. Mr. Grebma and his guests were enjoying 
their matutinal smoke on the veranda of his comfortable sum- 
mer cottage situated on a bluff overlooking the straits. The 
Chicago papers, which always came a day late, had been read 
and cast aside. The company had discussed exhaustively 
pro and con the colossal fine imposed upon the Standard Oil 
Trust, and the conversation began to lag. The silence was 
broken by the occasional warble of an oriole in a neighboring 
tree or by the buzz of a humming bird that flitted about the 
flower baskets suspended from the ceiling of the veranda. 

While the gaze of the smokers wandered listlessly from 
the boats lying motionless, like so many aquatic fowl upon the 
water's surface, to the greedy robins pulling worms from 
the green lawn that stretched like an emerald Wilton carpet 
from the house to the roadside, their attention was suddenly 
aroused by the approach of Father Michaels, the local pastor. 
He waved his hand in greeting to the gentlemen on the porch. 
Mr. Grebma returned the salutation, shouting at the same 
time : " Good morning, Father ! What's your hurry ? Won't 
you come up and join us?" 

The priest accepted the proffered invitation ; he was always 
a welcome visitor at the Grebma cottage. For some unac- 
countable reason his presence seemed invariably to turn the 

i 



2 Polemic Chat 

theme of conversation to religious topics. " We had quite a 
theological discussion at the breakfast table this morning/' said 
Mr. Grebma, " and we should like very much to have you throw 
a little light on the subject." 

"Well, what is the subject under discussion?" asked the 
clergyman, helping himself to a perfecto from a box that lay 
alluringly open on the table and settling himself down in a 
cozy rocker. 

" Why, the subject is Uncle Joe Cannon," said Mr. Grebma. 
" I suppose you know that he will be in town to-night ? " 

" Yes," replied the priest, " I heard some persons talking 
about him this morning at the postoffice when I dropped in 
there to get my mail." 

" We have been debating," continued Mr. Grebma, " about 
the propriety of our going to hear him speak. He is a national 
character and mentioned as a presidential possibility. I am 
very curious to see him. People say that he looks exactly like 
the pictures of him in the newspapers. He must be a pretty 
shrewd and able fellow to be Speaker of the House." 

" Where is he going to speak ? " asked the priest. 

" In the town hall," replied Mr. Grebma. " The women 
folks claim that I must not go, because he intends to speak 
for the benefit of the little Protestant church. Of course you 
will agree with them. My candid opinion is that you all are 
too narrow-gauged in such things. What harm can there be 
in helping those people to maintain their church ? Isn't it 
better to aid them in keeping the church they have than to 
allow them to be without one? You will say that for me it 
would be participation in a false worship ; but as the old darkey 
sagely remarked : ' De sinfulness ob sin am pendin' on de 
spirit which you goes and does it in.' I simply want to see 
and hear Uncle Joe. That is the purpose of my going. The 
fact that a collection will be taken up for the benefit of the 
Protestant church doesn't concern me. Of course I will be 
obliged to give something in order not to appear mean." 

" Why, certainly," interposed Judge Mcllhon. " I fail to 
see anything wrong in that. In our town the Methodists, 



Participation in False Worship 3 

Baptists and Presbyterians come around to my office regularly 
for a subscription whenever there is anything going on in their 
churches, and I always write them out a check. There is no 
escape. They do the same for us. Look at Bishop So-and-So ; 
didn't he get nearly half a million from a non-Catholic for his 
seminary ? Why, it isn't so very long ago that the newspapers 
had a report of this same prelate making a donation to the 
Y. M. C. A." 

" Gentlemen," said the priest, " while I do not assert that 
it would be wrong for you to attend this lecture, my advice is 
to remain at home. Charity obliges us to love all men irre- 
spective of creed, color or nationality. We hate false prin- 
ciples, but not the persons holding them. The fact of their 
helping us to support the one true church is certainly no reason 
why we should help them to maintain a false one. You cannot 
place truth and error upon an equal footing. Please answer 
me this question : ' Do you believe the Catholic Church to be 
the only true one established by Christ ? ' " 

" We do believe," they replied, in unison that reminded him 
of a class of first communicants renewing their baptismal 
vows. 

" And that all other churches outside the true one are 
false?" 

" We do believe," they answered. 

" Then," added the priest, " you cannot help perceiving 
the fallacy of your assertion that it is better to help them 
support their false church than to have none at all. As well 
might you say that it is better to help a man to keep at least 
counterfeit money than allow him to go with his pockets empty. 
Nothing is easier than to enunciate moral principles regarding 
formal and material co-operation in a false worship. But the 
practical application of these principles is not so easy. It is 
often difficult to determine whether the co-operation be really 
formal or only material; even in the latter case it does not 
follow that material co-operation is always permissible. There 
must be a just and sufficient motive which can only be decided 
in each individual case according to the rules of prudence and 



4 Polemic Chat 

common sense. Architects, for example, are justified in draw- 
ing plans, likewise contractors and laborers in executing the 
same in the construction of synagogues and heretical temples. 
Their co-operation is not formal, but material, and there is 
besides the just and urgent motive of earning an honest living. 
Now in the case of your attending to-night's lecture for the 
benefit of the Protestant church, your co-operation would be 
only material. But where is the just and urgent motive for 
your attendance? Is it lest your absence might hurt you 
socially or financially? You will suffer no damage by remain- 
ing away. Your sole motive is to satisfy your curiosity which 
may be amply gratified when you return to Chicago or visit 
Washington. Of course I realize how embarrassing it must 
be on certain occasions for business and professional men, 
whom commercial and social interests bring in daily contact 
with non-Catholics. It is sometimes practically impossible to 
refuse them when they solicit funds for their churches. I 
think it would be well to tell them plainly : ' Gentlemen, my 
conscience forbids me to contribute to the support of a de- 
nomination which I sincerely believe to be false. To show 
that there is no ill feeling, here is a donation for your orphans, 
for your hospital or for the poor of your congregation.' This 
will preclude all possibility of being considered mean, and at 
the same time elicit admiration for the courage of your re- 
ligious convictions. It is related of Archbishop Hughes that 
he was once asked to contribute to the erection of a new Prot- 
estant church by certain parties to whom he felt under special 
obligations. He told the solicitors that he could not contribute 
to the erection of a Protestant church, but would gladly give 
a donation to pull down the old one. His action was solely a 
manifestation of good will and could in no wise be interpreted 
as an endorsement of heresy. 

"A similar explanation may no doubt be -found in regard 
to the prelate contributing to the Y. M. C. A. We should, 
however, keep in mind that according to its constitution, no 
Catholic is eligible to any office in that organization. The late 
Count Creighton of Omaha stopped his contributions to it 



Participation in False Worship 5 

rather abruptly when he became aware of this discriminating 
clause. This feature alone, apart from its underhand prosely- 
tizing proclivities, ought to be sufficient reason for us to think 
twice before consenting to be advertised as patrons of such an 
institution. We certainly have ample opportunity to exercise 
charity a little nearer home." 

" Father," asked the Judge, " what about Catholics attend- 
ing marriages, baptisms, sermons and funerals in Protestant 
churches? Did you notice the fuss a western bishop made 
over a Catholic lady acting as bridesmaid at the wedding of a 
divorced man? Why, the papers reported that he threatened 
to excommunicate any Catholic attending the ceremony ! Don't 
you think that he was a little too drastic and intolerant ? " 

" No," said Father Michaels, " I think that the bishop was 
perfectly justified in his action. What business could self- 
respecting Catholics possibly have at such a scandalous per- 
formance? Their presence would be easily interpreted not 
only as condoning, but as sanctioning legalized adultery. In 
the first place, Catholics are never allowed to assist at heretical 
weddings or baptisms in the capacity of bridesmaids or spon- 
sors, as the Church has more than once expressly declared. 
Sermons of heretics should be also avoided. ' A man that is 
a heretic,' says Paul, ' after the first and second admonition 
avoid. Shun profane and vain babblings, for they grow much 
towards ungodliness. And their speech spreadeth like a canker 
of whom are Hymeneus and Philetus. He that loveth the 
danger shall perish therein.' The custom of inviting heretics 
and infidels to address Catholic assemblies on ethical subjects 
is even more reprehensible. Such individuals are certainly 
not qualified to teach us anything on religious topics. In regard 
to funerals, it may be allowed to attend them simply as an act 
of friendship and courtesy, provided, of course, you take no 
part whatever in the religious service, provided there be neither 
occasion of scandal nor danger of perversion, and above all 
that there really exists an urgent reason for being present at 
such functions. In all cases of this kind it is best to seek ad- 
vice beforehand from the ecclesiastical authorities, since it was 



6 Polemic Chat 

for the purpose of guiding the faithful in their spiritual diffi- 
culties that our Lord appointed bishops and pastors over His 
Church. Well, gentlemen, I hate to tear myself away, but duty 
calls. A person telephoned me from the town that he desired 
to have an interview with me at eleven o'clock and I must not 
disappoint him. Good bye." 



CHAPTER II 

EVIL OF MIXED MARRIAGES 

On his way home Fr. Michaels stopped at the postoffice for 
his mail. As he sauntered along the board walk, lining the 
shore, he perused the few letters he had received. One of 
them was from his bishop, allowing him to be away from his 
parish over Sunday, provided he found a priest to take his 
place during his absence. The others were stereotyped commu- 
nications from stock brokers, confidentially promising to let him 
in on the ground floor of a get-rich-quick scheme that would 
net him about 15 per cent. The good father was better versed 
in polemics than finance, and the fascinating vision of a new 
pipe organ being installed in his church flashed momentarily 
across his mind. It was succeeded by the melancholy rec- 
ollection of an unprofitable investment which, a year or so 
after his ordination, he had persuaded an indulgent parent to 
make for him. He had learned through painful experience 
that in the marts of this cruel world, we cannot get something 
for nothing. " Served me right," he muttered. " Ne sutor 
supra crepidatn." * If these alluring investments were really 
what their promoters represent, the shrewd speculators always 
on the alert for a good thing would not allow a dollar of the 
stock to escape. He therefore consigned the advertising baits 
to the tender mercy of the waves, where the unsuspecting fishes 
might nibble at them if they chose. 

When he finally reached the parish rectory, he found a 
young man in the parlor. " Good morning, Father," said the 
visitor, rising and at the same time proffering his card. " My 
name is George Paxton, and I telephoned you from the Island 
House. I want to arrange with you about a marriage." 

" This is rather sudden, Mr. Paxton," said the priest, smiling 

1 Let the cobbler stick to his last. 

7 



8 Polemic Chat 

and glancing at the inscription on the card. " I see you are 
from Chicago. And the young lady ? " 

" Her home is also in Chicago, but just now she is stopping 
with friends over at the East End. She isn't a Catholic. I am 
having a couple of weeks vacation and arrived here yesterday 
on the Northland from Duluth. We happened to meet yester- 
day on the dock by the merest accident. She came down to 
see a few friends leave on the Detroit boat. We have been 
keeping company nearly two years. In fact, we are engaged 
and concluded last evening that it would be nice to be married 
quietly up here." 

" It would be nice," said Fr. Michaels, " if you had a dis- 
pensation from your bishop and a letter from your pastor 
authorizing me to marry you." 

" Well, Father," said Mr. Paxton, " can't you telegraph for 
the dispensation? I will stand the expense." 

" Your pastor is really the one to apply for the dispensa- 
tion and to certify that you are free to marry. Rome has more 
than once reproved the telegraphic mode of granting dispensa- 
tions. We must observe the canonical formalities." 

" And what are they ? " anxiously inquired Mr. Paxton. 

" Please take a seat," said Fr. Michaels, " and we will talk 
it over. You say that you are already engaged to this young 
lady?" 

" Yes, Father." 

" Was she ever baptized in any church? " 

"Well, you have me there, Father," said Mr. Paxton. "I 
really don't know. Does it make any material difference ? " 

" Enough," replied Fr. Michaels, " to affect the validity of 
the dispensation. If not baptized, the marriage impediment is 
called disparity of cult. If she be really baptized, then you 
must ask for a dispensation from the impediment of mixed 
religion. For aught I know, she may be a Jewess, and in that 
case the petition must be made simply for a dispensation be- 
tween a Catholic and a Jewess. Our bishops are not inclined 
to grant a dispensation for these Hebrew alliances, which are 
usually followed by a civil divorce. While the Catholic is for- 



Evil of Mixed Marriages Q 

bidden under pain of excommunication to remarry during the 
lifetime of the divorced Jewish consort, the latter encounters 
no obstacle on the part of the synagogue to enter second nup- 
tials. Are your parents living? " 

" My mother is living and I reside with her. My father died 
when I was about nine years old." 

" Does she know of your engagement to this young lady? " 
asked Fr. Michaels. 

" N-no," stammered the young man, " I can't say that she 
does; but I rather think she suspects it." 

" Suspects it ! " echoed the priest. " Have you decided this 
most important affair without taking her into consultation ? " 

" It looks that way," replied Mr. Paxton with a sickly smile. 
" Asking mother," he continued, " is a little bit old fashioned. 
You see, Father, I am no spring chicken. In fact, I am going 
on thirty years of age. Who has a better right to decide this 
most important affair than the person it chiefly concerns? Of 
course I intended to tell her." 

." You certainly are old enough," said Fr. Michaels, " to 
display a little more filial deference to your mother, as well as 
a little more prudence and judgment in a matter of such vital 
importance. Who, in your candid opinion, is more deeply 
interested in your welfare — she who brought you into exist- 
ence and has known you intimately before you even knew your- 
self, or this lady, whose chance acquaintance you made a few 
years ago, who after a while may tire of you, seek a divorce 
and pick up with someone else ? " 

" Father," said Mr. Paxton, " this young lady is very favor- 
ably disposed. More than once she has intimated her willing- 
ness to comply with all the conditions of the Church." 

" Very obliging," mused the priest. " No doubt she would 
as readily comply with all the conditions of the synagogue, in 
case that you happened to be a Jew." 

" Well, Father," said Mr. Paxton with some animation, " I 
happen to be a Catholic instead of a Jew. I'm a traveling man 
and must admit that I have been a good deal of a sport. Many 
a hard earned dollar I've lost in poker and on the ponies. My 



io Polemic Chat 

batting average has also been pretty strong. But I've cut it all 
out and intend to settle down. I might run off to a justice or 
a preacher and get married, but that would break my mother's 
heart and God knows I've caused her trouble enough. As a 
Catholic, I wish to know what is necessary to obtain the dispen- 
sation." A stray tear trickled down his cheek as he finished. 

" Are you a professional ? " asked Fr. Michaels. 

" Professional what?" inquired Mr. Paxton with a look of 
bewilderment. 

" Why, a professional ball player," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" You alluded to your strong batting average. I was quite an 
enthusiast of the game in my college days." 

" Oh," ejaculated Mr. Paxton, " I simply meant hitting the 
bottle. Kindly tell me how I can get the dispensation." 

" My dear friend," said Fr. Michaels, " quite a number of 
things are necessary for that dispensation. First of all, the 
lady must sign an agreement that she will never interfere with 
you in the practice of your religion; that offspring of both 
sexes shall be brought up in the Catholic Faith ; that no other 
ceremony but the one performed by the priest shall take place. 
Not only should the danger of your drifting away from the 
church be remote, but you must do all in your power to bring 
about her conversion. According to a recent decree a dispensa- 
tion granted from the impediment disparity of cult without a 
promise regarding these conditions is null, and in each case the 
nullity of the marriage can be declared by the bishop himself 
without having recourse to the Holy See. All these require- 
ments are specifically stated in the Apostolic Faculties empow- 
ering bishops to grant such dispensations. Besides these writ- 
ten promises, there must be a grave canonical reason without 
which neither the bishop nor anyone delegated by him can val- 
idly dispense. If the petitioners be not poverty stricken, a 
nominal alms is exacted and devoted to some charitable work 
at the bishop's discretion." 

" What would be regarded as a grave canonical reason for 
granting the dispensation ? " asked Mr. Paxton. 

" A well-founded prospect of converting the non-Catholic," 



Evil of Mixed Marriages n 

replied Fr. Michaels. " In the case of a Catholic girl, who 
is not a widow, the fact of her being 24 years of age. It might 
be her only opportunity for a suitable match. A dispensation 
might be granted in order to prevent week-kneed Catholics 
from marrying sacrilegiously outside the Church and living in 
sin." 

" Why, Father, from your talk," exclaimed Mr. Paxton, 
" one would infer that the Church doesn't approve of mixed 
marriages. Yet she grants dispensations for them every day." 

" Rest assured," said Fr. Michaels, " that she does not 
approve of them. Whenever she allows her children to marry 
a person outside her communion, the dispensation should not 
be regarded as a tacit approval or encouragement of such a 
union, but merely as a toleration or selection of the lesser of 
two evils. If there be anything contrary to the spirit of true 
religion, it is mixed marriages. Even granting that the prom- 
ises have been sincerely made, what assurance is there that 
they will be faithfully kept? There is no relationship more 
intimate than that of man and wife. But what unity of feeling 
and sentiment can exist between hearts that hold contrary re- 
ligious convictions? Habits, customs and relationships con- 
stantly clash and the opposing religious views of the married 
couple are a permanent source of domestic strife. The non- 
Catholic wife promises not to interfere with the Catholic hus- 
band in the practice of his religion. But very likely she and 
her relatives have been taught to regard the Pope as anti- 
Christ, the priests as wolves in sheep's clothing, the veneration 
of the Saints and devotion to the Holy Eucharist as idolatry, 
Confession a human invention, fasting and abstinence as rank 
superstition ! Will they allow the children to be inoculated 
with such awful practices? Not if they can help it. I once 
knew a fine Catholic young man who married a highly re- 
spected lady not of his faith. They have a son aged 14 who 
has never been baptized. Of course some of these unions may 
result in the sincere conversion of the non-Catholic and the 
Christian education of the children. But for such an excep- 
tionally fortunate mixed marriage, a score of unhappy ones 



12 Polemic Chat 

may be easily adduced as horrible examples. For this reason 
they were positively forbidden to the ancient Jews and emphat- 
ically discouraged among Christians." 

" I never heard of mixed marriages among the ancient Jews," 
said Mr. Paxton. 

" Well, just listen to this," said Fr. Michaels, picking up a 
Bible that lay on the center table and turning to Genesis VI : 
" The sons of God seeing the daughters of men that they were 
fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose." 

" Why are they called the sons of God ? " asked the young 
man. 

" Did you never read," said Fr. Michaels, " the words of 
St. John's gospel recited at the end of Mass — ' But as many as 
received him, He gave them power to be made the sons of 
God ? ' The descendants of Seth and Enos on account of their 
religion and piety are called sons of God. They remained good 
until they married the ungodly race of Cain, styled on account 
of their iniquity the sons of men. The unhappy consequence 
of their intermarriage is clearly indicated in verse 17: ' Behold 
I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth to de- 
stroy all flesh.' This ought to render Christians most circum- 
spect in their marriages. They should never be influenced in 
the choice of a life partner by wealth or passion to the prejudice 
of virtue or religion. Jacob following the advice of his worthy 
parents went to the country of his ancestors to seek in marriage 
the hand of Rachel and thus became the father of God's chosen 
people. By ignoring the counsel of your mother, you evi- 
dently wish to follow the pernicious example of Esau, who 
selected a heathen wife, thus bringing untold grief to his par- 
ents. 

" In Deuteronomy VI, we see how the people of Israel are 
commanded to have no fellowship with the pagan Chanaan- 
ites. ' Neither shalt thou make marriage with them. Thou 
shalt not give thy daughter to his son, nor take his daughter 
for thy son. For she will turn away thy son from following 
me that he may rather serve strange gods, and the wrath of the. 
Lord will be kindled and will quickly destroy thee.' " 



Evil of Mixed Marriages 13 

" But don't you think, Father," said Mr. Paxton, " that we 
enjoy greater freedom in this respect under the New Law? " 

" St. Paul doesn't think so," replied Fr. Michaels. " Read 
what he says in II Cor. VI, 14, 15." 

The young man turned to the passage indicated and read 
aloud : " Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what par- 
ticipation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath 
light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with 
Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? 
What's the answer ? " asked Mr. Paxton. 

" A decidedly negative answer," replied the priest solemnly. 
" No participation, no fellowship, no part. Speaking of the 
widow's freedom to marry after her husband's death, the apos- 
tle says in I Cor. VII : ' Let her marry to whom she will, only 
in the Lord.' The meaning is — Let her get married in the 
Church ; not to a pagan, Jew, infidel or heretic, but to a Chris- 
tian. Councils and Pontiffs are unanimous in discouraging 
these unfortunate alliances. The Church's attitude is clearly 
manifested in the conspicuous absence of religious ceremonies 
at their celebration. Nuptial Mass and blessing are omitted. 
In fact, they cannot take place in the church or in any part of it. 
Bishops generally decline to officiate, in deference to the wishes 
of the Sovereign Pontiff. The priest standing before the 
couple merely as a witness is forbidden by the Roman Ritual 
to wear stole or other sacred vestment." 

" But why should the Church be so intolerant," asked Mr. 
Paxton, " especially here in America, where we come in daily 
contact with heretics, Jews and infidels ? " 

" My dear sir," replied Fr. Michaels, " the child's catechism 
answers your question. The Church forbids the marriage of 
Catholics with persons having a different religion or no religion 
at all, because such marriages generally lead to indifference, 
loss of faith and to the neglect of the religious education of 
the children." 

" Well, Father," said Mr. Paxton, looking at his watch, " I 
did not realize that it was so late — a quarter of one. I want 
to thank you for the trouble you have taken with me. There 



14 Polemic Chat 

are a few more things I would like to know. When may I 
impose again on your time ? " 

" To-morrow morning about n o'clock," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" As to the alleged imposition, put that out of your head. My 
time could not be better employed. If I succeed in dissuading 
you from entering upon an alliance which means inevitable 
misery, I shall feel amply compensated." 



CHAPTER III 

DIVORCE 

" I am glad to see you so punctual," said Fr. Michaels, as 
he ushered Mr. Paxton into his library the next morning. 

" Oh, I always try to keep an appointment," replied the lat- 
ter. " Father," he continued, " I want to be perfectly frank. 
Open confession, they say, is good for the soul. The young 
lady to whom I am engaged was married before." 

" You don't tell me ! " exclaimed Fr. Michaels, staring in 
blank amazement at his visitor. 

" Yes," said Mr. Paxton, with his gaze fixed upon the floor. 
" She was married to a worthless, drunken fellow, who, on 
several occasions, threatened to kill her. He finally left her 
and went out west to Arizona. She obtained a divorce from 
him on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. I don't consider 
that any real marriage. Of course as a general rule the Catho- 
lic Church never grants a divorce. My employer has made 
rules which I break occasionally for good reasons and he doesn't 
upbraid me. Why can't the Church do the same ? " 

" Nothing can solve the bond of a consummated Christian 
marriage," said Fr. Michaels, " but the death of either husband 
or wife." 

" But why," asked Mr. Paxton, " were the patriarchs and 
prophets allowed to have several wives ? " 

"When man's life had been shortened," said Fr. Michaels, 
" God permitted simultaneous polygamy, in order that His 
chosen people might be multiplied. He also permitted divorce. 
But His only begotten Son restored marriage to its original 
unity and indissolubility. Listen to this," he continued, open- 
ing the Bible at St. Mark's gospel, X, 2-12 : ' The Pharisees 
coming to him asked him : Is it lawful for a man to put away 

15 



16 Polemic Chat 

his wife? tempting him. But he answering, saith to them: 
What did Moses command you ? Who said : Moses permitted 
to write a bill of divorce, and to put her away. To whom Jesus 
answering, said: Because of the hardness of your heart he 
wrote you that precept. But from the beginning of the crea- 
tion, God made them male and female. For this cause a man 
shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife. 
And they two shall be in one flesh. What therefore God hath 
joined together, let no man put asunder. And in the house 
again his disciples asked him concerning- the same thing. And 
he saith to them : Whosoever shall put away his wife, and 
marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if the 
wife put away her husband, and be married to another, she 
committeth adultery.' ' To them that are married, not I, but 
the Lord commandeth,' says St. Paul, I Cor. VII, * that the 
wife depart not from her husband. And if she depart, that 
she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband.' The 
marriage between infidels, i. e., both unbaptized, may be dis- 
solved in favor of one converted to Christianity, if the uncon- 
verted spouse refuses to live peacefully and without contumely 
to the Creator with the baptized consort. ' If the unbeliever 
depart, let him depart,' says St. Paul. ' For a brother or sis- 
ter is not under servitude in such cases. But God hath called 
us in peace.' The non-consummated marriage of baptized per- 
sons may also be dissolved by the solemn profession of one of 
the parties in a religious order, or by papal dispensation. 
Sometimes a separation from bed and board may be permitted 
without the dissolution of the marriage bond, either by mutual 
consent, or on account of misconduct." 

"But isn't marriage a contract just like any other? Why 
shouldn't it be regulated by the State?" exclaimed Mr. 
Paxton. 

" By no means," replied Fr. Michaels. " As -to origin, pur- 
pose, rights and duties, marriage differs essentially from all 
other contracts. The latter regard material, external objects 
and may be rescinded by mutual consent of the contracting 
parties. Marriage, being purely domestic and pertaining essen- 



Divorce 1 7 

tially to the individual, lays the foundation of families on which 
rests the State. What right has the State to undermine the 
family? Our Lord raised Christian marriage to the dignity of 
a Sacrament, thereby placing it among the holiest of religious 
institutions. By making it a representation of His own union 
with the Church, it became an outward sign of inward grace. 
1 The husband,' says St. Paul, ' is the head of the wife, as 
Christ is the head of the Church/ Therefore, as the Church 
is subject to Christ, so also let the wives be to their husbands 
in all things. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved 
the Church, and delivered Himself up for it. Now marriage 
could not represent the union of Christ with His Church, and 
impose special duties on the married couple, unless it also 
gave them grace to fulfill these duties. Since, therefore, Christ 
made Christian marriage a sign of His union with the Church, 
like the other Sacraments, it must be a sign instituted by Christ 
and productive of grace. Hence the Apostle calls it a ' great 
Sacrament' (or mystery), 'in Christ and in the Church.' 
What right then has the State to meddle with it any more than 
with the other Sacraments? What judge can rightfully de- 
clare a valid Christian marriage null and void, any more than 
he can nullify baptism, confirmation or holy orders ? He might 
just as well try to invalidate the words of consecration or the 
absolution of the priest. The indissolubility of Christian mar- 
riage is not the result of human, but of divine legislation. 
' What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.' 
Adhering to this principle the Church permitted the apostasy 
of England rather than grant a decree of nullity to its lustful 
monarch Henry VIII. For grave reasons Church authority 
may dispense you from hearing Mass, fasting, abstaining or 
from other regulations which itself has made. Under no cir- 
cumstances, however, can priest, prelate or pope dissolve the 
bond of a consummated Christian marriage any more than they 
can grant permission to blaspheme, dishonor parents, commit 
adultery, slander or calumniate. Why? Because such things 
are forbidden by divine law from which no human authority 
can dispense." 



18 Polemic Chat 

" Has the State, then, no right to enact laws regarding the 
marriage of her citizens? " asked Mr. Paxton. 

" The State has no right to legalize adultery," replied Fr. 
Michaels. " It cannot dissolve a valid marriage. While it 
may legislate regarding the amount of dowry, inheritance, legal 
obligations of husband and wife, in a word, concerning the 
civil effects of the marriage contract, the Church alone has 
the right to make laws regarding the Sacrament of marriage. 
Catholics are not allowed to apply for a civil divorce without 
obtaining permission from their bishop beforehand. He will 
never grant it unless for grave reasons, as e. g. in order to safe- 
guard property rights, to obtain custody of children and pro- 
tect them from the baneful influence of a worthless parent. 
If the purpose of the petitioners is to obtain freedom from a 
valid marriage in order to remarry, they will approach him in 
vain. Any Catholic man or woman attempting to enter nuptials 
after having obtained a civil divorce, is debarred from the Sac- 
raments." 

" Well, I know of divorced persons, who were remarried 
by a Catholic priest," exclaimed Mr. Paxton with an air of tri- 
umph. 

" So do I," replied Fr. Michaels. " And in each case the 
first marriage was null and void on account of some impedi- 
ment. People may sometimes go through the marriage cere- 
mony in good faith without being married at all by reason of 
some circumstance vitiating the marriage contract. To avoid 
such occurrences the Council of Trent decreed that the names 
of persons to be married should be published at the principal 
Mass in the parish church on three Sundays or holidays pre- 
ceding the marriage. When persons come to arrange for a 
wedding, they ought to reveal every detail that might invalidate 
or render their union illicit. But it is usually like pulling teeth 
to extract the necessary information from them. Yesterday 
you didn't know whether this lady had ever been baptized. 
To-day you tell me that she has been divorced from her hus- 
band." 



Divorce 19 

" Well, what do you advise me to do ? " asked Mr. Paxton 
in a tone of despair. 

" My disinterested advice," replied Fr. Michaels, " is to for- 
get the lady in question. The best way to accomplish this is 
to avoid meeting or corresponding with her. After you have 
succeeded in eliminating her from your mind and heart, you 
can direct your attention to some damsel within the fold not 
already encumbered with a husband." 

" But I have already promised her. How can I break my 
word?" 

" My dear friend," replied Fr. Michaels, " you have no right 
to promise what your conscience forbids you to do. Supposing 
that you promised under oath to kill a man, or to burn your 
neighbor's house ? You would certainly commit a grievous sin 
in making such a promise, and a still more heinous crime in 
keeping it. It is the same with your engagement to a divorced 
woman. An oath can never be the bond of iniquity." 



CHAPTER IV 

A PROSPECTIVE CONVERT 

The attention of Fr. Michaels and his visitor was attracted 
by a phaeton halting before the rectory. " Why, there is the 
young lady herself," exclaimed Mr. Paxton, at the same time 
nodding to her through the open window. 

"How long do you intend to remain there?" she asked, 
twirling her parasol. 

" Not very long," replied Mr. Paxton. " Please come in a 
moment ; I want you to meet Fr. Michaels. Allow me to pre- 
sent Miss Isabel Seymour," he said, as the young lady entered 
the parlor. " Very glad to meet you," said Fr. Michaels, 
slightly coloring. 

He was taken by surprise to encounter the individual who 
had figured so prominently in their conversation. Mr. Paxton 
enjoyed the priest's embarrassment and remarked facetiously : 
" Fr. Michaels has been saying some hard things against mixed 
marriages and divorces." 

" Quite true," said Fr. Michaels, regaining his composure. 
" I have been calling Mr. Paxton's attention to a few Biblical 
passages on the subject." 

" St. Paul, I fancy, is not very much in favor of them," ven- 
tured the young lady. " Still," she continued, " if he knew my 
case, he would readily admit that I have been more sinned 
against than sinning. Do you think, Father, that he would 
compel me to live with a human brute who threatened to kill 
me?" 

" Hardly," replied Fr. Michaels. 

" Well, that is what John Betruger, my husband, tried to 
do," said the young woman, as the tears welled in her eyes at 
the thought of it. " When under the influence of liquor he 



A Prospective Convert 21 

was capable of anything. In self -protection I procured a di- 
vorce from him on the grounds of cruelty and non-support. I 
have heard and read a good deal about Catholic doctrine and 
often wished to join the Church. But of course that is impos- 
sible for a divorcee." 

" The mere fact of your being divorced," said Fr. Michaels, 
" is no hindrance to your entering the Church. There is joy 
before the angels in heaven over one sinner doing penance more 
than over ninety-nine just that need not penance. Our Lord 
came to save the lost sheep of Israel. Think of the mercy He 
displayed towards Mary Magdalen and the woman accused by 
the Pharisees. The greatest reprobate is most cordially wel- 
comed into the Catholic fold provided he be willing to believe 
and practice what the Church believes and teaches." 

" Oh, Father," exclaimed the lady, her face crimsoning, " I 
certainly am not as wicked as you imagine. What would I 
have to do in order to become a Catholic ? " 

" Pardon me," said Fr. Michaels, " but are you not more 
deeply interested in matrimony than in baptism ? " 

" Well, I am equally interested in both," she replied, some- 
what nettled. " I shall never marry Mr. Paxton without the 
sanction of his church. Persons familiar with my case have 
assured me that if it were properly presented before the bishop, 
I would obtain a favorable decision. The trouble is that no 
priest to whom I have ever broached the subject cares to bother 
with it. Doesn't the Church concern herself at all about the 
marriages of Protestants ? " 

" The marriage of baptized Protestants," said Fr. Michaels, 
"is a sacrament and therefore subject to the Church's juris- 
diction. She has never exempted heretics from any of her 
marriage laws, unless perhaps the one of clandestinity. She 
regards the marriage of a baptized Protestant with an unbap- 
tized person as invalid owing to the impediment of disparity of 
cult." 

" But Father," asked Miss Seymour, " what about the case 
in which neither husband nor wife is baptized?" 

" Such marriages not being a sacrament," replied Fr. Mi- 



2.2. Polemic Chat 

chads, " the Church has no jurisdiction over them. Jews and 
infidels do not incur the diriment impediments established by 
the Church. Even when one of them is converted and bap- 
tized, the conversion and baptism do not effect the validity of 
the marriage. If the infidel husband is willing to live peace- 
fully and not interfere with his converted wife in the exercise 
of her religion, their marriage cannot be dissolved. If, how- 
ever, he be unwilling to do this, then the converted spouse may 
take advantage of the Pauline privilege mentioned in I Cor. 
VIII. After the interpellations have been made to him and 
he be still unwilling, or a papal dispensation from them has 
been previously obtained, the converted party may be declared 
free to enter other nuptials." 

" I am convinced now more than ever," exclaimed the young 
woman, " that my case can be settled by the Church. That 
man John Betruger was never baptized ; neither was I, but I 
intend to be. He ridiculed all religion and often said that 
church goers were a lot of hypocrites. What is there to pre- 
vent me from enjoying the privilege mentioned by St. Paul? " 

" Oh, nothing," replied Fr. Michaels, " unless lack of evi- 
dence and the fact of your not being converted. How can you 
prove that you and your husband were never baptized ? " 

" Why, Mr. Paxton and I will make affidavits to that effect," 
she replied. 

" Both of you being interested witnesses," said Fr. Michaels, 
" your testimony would be inadmissible in the Matrimonial 
Court of the Church. Affidavits of that kind are not worth 
the paper upon which they are written. Testimony doctored 
up at the instigation of the petitioners seeking the decree of 
nullity is thrown out of court. It hinders more than it helps. 
Church officials always insist upon documentary evidence when 
obtainable. They want a certified copy of a baptism or mar- 
riage from the original entry made in the baptismal or marriage 
register of the Church in which the ceremony took place. If 
the records have been destroyed, then the Court will be satis- 
fied with two competent and trustworthy witnesses who have 
a knowledge of the facts and are willing to tell them truthfully 



A Prospective Convert 23 

under oath. The moderator usually cites these witnesses to 
appear personally before him on the day when the court con- 
venes, in order that they may be thoroughly examined by him 
and cross-examined by the Defender of the Marriage Bond." 

" But, Father/' asked Miss Seymour, " supposing that the 
witnesses cannot come ? " 

"If they live quite a distance from the court, yet in the dio- 
cese where it convenes," said Fr. Michaels, " then the judge 
or auditor can delegate a priest living near them to take their 
sworn deposition and examine them. If they live outside the 
diocese where the case is being tried, then their addresses and 
interrogatories are sent to the Bishop of that locality. He 
usually authorizes his Vicar General or some other competent 
ecclesiastic to take down their sworn answers to the interroga- 
tories forwarded." 

" But must a regular trial precede the settlement of the 
case ? " asked Miss Seymour. " I thought that the Bishop 
could decide it himself." 

" Well," said Fr. Michaels, " in a case like yours, viz. : dis- 
parity of cult, or bigamy, consanguinity, affinity from marriage, 
spiritual affinity from baptism or confirmation, and clandestin- 
ity, — if the marriage is invalidated from such impediments — 
the Bishop can grant a decree of nullity without a trial pro- 
vided he has previously heard the Defender of the Marriage 
Bond with whom he has carefully weighed the evidence." 

" Well, what do you advise in my case ? " nervously asked 
the young lady. 

" Candidly, I am not over-enthusiastic," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" In order that I may present your case in due form before the 
Bishop having jurisdiction to decide it, kindly write a brief 
history of it when you go home. State when and where you 
were born and to what church you belong; when, where, to 
whom and by whom you were married, where and how 
long you lived together; when, where and why you were 
separated; give the names and religion of your and his 
parents. Tell whether you and he were ever baptized. In- 
dicate names and P. O. addresses of two competent 



24 Polemic Chat 

witnesses who have a direct knowledge of the facts con- 
cerning yourself and husband and are willing to give their testi- 
mony under oath. Of course the Church will not touch your 
case until you have become a member. Are you really in ear- 
nest about becoming a Catholic ? " 

" I was never more in earnest about anything in my life," she 
answered. 

" As proof of your sincerity, then," said Fr. Michaels, " you 
must release Mr. Paxton from all obligation towards you 
and see as little as possible of him until after your admission 
into the Church. You must furthermore agree to abide by the 
Church's decision, no matter whether it be favorable or unfav- 
orable." 

" I am perfectly willing to promise all these things," she re- 
plied. 

" Very good, then," said Fr. Michaels. " Kindly attend the 
8 o'clock Mass to-morrow morning, after which I may intro- 
duce you to an estimable Catholic lady who will deem it a pleas- 
ure to help you through the catechism." 

" How long do you think that it will take, Father, before I 
am admitted into the Church ? " she anxiously demanded. 

" That," said Fr. Michaels, " will largely depend on your ap- 
plication and progress." 



CHAPTER V 

RELIGIOUS INDIFFERENCE 

" I hope that she is not trying to join the Church in order 
to marry Paxton," soliloquized Fr. Michaels, after the depar- 
ture of his visitors. Marriage conversions were at a discount 
in his estimation. He regarded them as having a tendency to- 
ward hypocrisy, rather than genuine piety. 

" Your dinner is getting cold, Father," said the house- 
keeper, appearing in the doorway of his study. " The Min- 
chione boys telephoned to know if you cared to go sailing with 
them this afternoon. I replied that you were engaged with 
some persons in the parlor, and that I would ask you as soon 
as you came out." 

" Call them up and say that I will be there at half-past two," 
replied Fr. Michaels. All through the meal his thoughts were 
centered upon the events of the morning. " I'll turn her over 
to Mrs. Grebma," he said to himself, " and after she has fin- 
ished the catechism, I will know whether she is sincere." 
About two o'clock he donned a panama that had seen better 
days, and arming himself with a stout hawthorn to teach man- 
ners to impudent canines that might dispute his right of way, 
he strolled down the beach towards the Minchione cottage. 

In almost every parish may be found individuals, who, when 
interviewed about church affiliations, reply that they are Cath- 
olics, yet they cross the church's threshold only on the occasion 
of a baptism, marriage or funeral. Gross immorality, the 
duty of restitution, or secret societies prevent the majority 
from the practice of religion. Apart from these may be found 
a coterie of nominal Catholics whose lives, in the estimation 
of the world, are beyond reproach. Temperate, honest, indus- 
trious and generous, they command the esteem of their fellow- 

25 



26 Polemic Chat 

men. In business they are the soul of integrity. Nor do they 
belong to any forbidden organization. They are devoted to 
their families, affable to their friends, and deferential to the 
clergy, an attack against whom they might vigorously resent. 
But as to the fulfillment of religious duties, they manifest the 
greatest apathy. Sunday for them is a day of sloth. It is 
spent in lounging about the house, perusing newspapers, play- 
ing golf or other amusement. Their religion is usually vested 
in the feminine portion of the household. Now to this cate- 
gory of indirTerentists belonged the male members of the Min- 
chione family. The parents originally from Sorrento, Italy, 
migrated shortly after their marriage, to Chicago, where their 
children — three sons and two daughters — were born and 
raised. The father's commercial career was meteoric. He 
began by peddling vegetables. Through patient toil and fru- 
gality, he managed after a few years to launch into the whole- 
sale fruit business. The family returned each season to the 
island as regularly as the robins. Fr. Michaels visited them 
often in the hope of bringing them to a sense of duty. 

" Buon giorno, Signori ! " x he exclaimed, approaching the 
father and two sons, who were rigging a small sail boat that 
lay at anchor near the pier. 

" Oh, favorite, Padre ! " 2 replied the three, doffing their 
hats. 

" No sailorman evah maka deesa knots," muttered the elder 
Minchione as he tugged impatiently at one of the gaskets. 
" Lika de ones Padre maka in de shoorsh." 

" How is that ? " inquired Fr. Michaels. 

" Why, like the marriage knot which people make before 
you with their tongues and can't undo with their teeth," ex- 
plained Rocco, the oldest son. 

Fr. Michaels stepped lightly into the stern of the boat and 
sat alongside Mr. Minchione, who evidently intended to do 
the steering. " Well, Padre, watsa gooda news ? " asked the 
latter as he headed the prow towards Bois Blanc. 

1 Good morning, gentlemen. 

2 Welcome, Father. 



Religious Indifference 27 

" Oh, nothing much," replied Fr. Michaels. " I didn't see 
you or the boys at Mass last Sunday." 

" I guessa you're right," said Minchione, with just the faint- 
est shadow of embarrassment. " But, Padre," he continued, 
" you can alius finda Mrs. Minchione anda girls in a shoorsh. 
Dey maka pray for whola famiglia." 

" That won't do you much good on the day of final reck- 
oning," said Fr. Michaels, " when each man shall be judged 
according to his works." 

" Oh, I don't tink it maka mucha difference wit God Al- 
mighty whata man believa if he be honesta man," said Signor 
Minchione. 

" Well," continued Fr. Michaels, " that is the shortest pro- 
fession of faith I ever heard. It has the Apostles' Creed and 
Decalogue reduced to one commandment : ' Thou shalt not 
steal.' What would you think of a person asserting: It 
makes no difference whether I have eyes provided I see, 
whether I have ears so long as I hear, whether I have a 
tongue so long as I can talk, whether I have feet provided I 
walk? There is certainly something wrong with the brain of 
anyone uttering such language. Because without eyes, man 
cannot see, without ears he cannot hear, without a tongue he 
cannot talk, nor without feet is he able to walk. It is equally 
absurd to say: It makes no difference what a man believes, 
provided he be honest. What is your notion of an honest 
man ? " 

" Why," said Rocco, " the one who doesn't write Black 
Hand letters to his fellow countrymen, and who pays his 
debts." 

" Such a person," replied Fr. Michaels, " might keep out 
of jail. But I would not regard him solely on that account 
as an honest man. One might go through life without stealing 
or killing, and yet be a blasphemer, drunkard and libertin. 
Did it ever occur to 'you that the religious indifferentist is both 
a thief and a murderer? " 

" How do you figure that out ? " asked Ralph. 

" He is a thief," replied Fr. Michaels, " because he robs the 



28 Polemic Chat 

Creator of the worship due Him, and a murderer because 
through neglect of his religious duties he brings spiritual death 
and damnation upon his soul." 

" Well, don't those live right, who do what they believe is 
right ? " continued the young man. 

" Not necessarily," replied Fr. Michaels. " With Luther, 
belief was everything and good works nothing. ' Sin fear- 
lessly,' he said ' but believe more fearlessly.' The majority of 
our separated brethren have completely reversed the Lutheran 
motto. They claim good works to- be everything and faith 
nothing. ' Believe what you like and do right,' says the indif- 
ferentist, which of course, is easier said than done. Our ac- 
tions are very largely the outward expression of our belief. 
We cannot have a wrong belief very long without doing wrong. 
The Catholic Church has always taught that we must both be- 
lieve right and do right. Common sense tells us that we 
cannot do right unless we believe right. Mormons believe in 
polygamy and keep several wives. Most Protestants believe 
in divorce or successive polygamy, which enables them to 
have several wives in rotation. Catholics believe ' what God 
hath joined together let no man put asunder.' Anarchists 
believe in the destruction of all organized government. It 
cannot be right living to follow the dictates of caprice. Those 
alone live right who live as God wills and commands. His 
Divine Will is revealed to us through ' faith which cometh 
through hearing.' The man without faith is ignorant of God's 
will. Hence he cannot live right. It was in order to teach 
us right living that the Son of God descended upon earth and 
established a church. ' Go ye into the whole world and preach 
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be condemned. 
He that heareth not the church, let him be to thee as the 
heathen and the publican.' If it makes no difference what a 
man believes, then the martyrs were foolish in refusing sacri- 
fice to the idols; the Apostles should have remained in Pal- 
estine. They might just as well have ignored the divine com- 



Religious Indifference 29 

mand to evangelize the world, and the nations would still be 
enveloped in idolatry and superstition. It makes an awful 
difference what a man believes and whether he practices his 
belief. ' Not everyone that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter the 
kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, 
he shall enter the kingdom of heaven. If thou wilt enter into 
life, keep the commandments.' " 

" Do you think that all Catholics neglecting Mass and the 
sacraments shall be lost?" asked Ralph. 

" The average man," said Fr. Michaels, " would regard it 
the height of folly to assume quarter the risk in business that 
you boys and your father are taking with the important affair 
of salvation. Our faith teaches that wilful neglect of Mass 
and the sacraments is a mortal sin and to die in that state 
means eternal perdition. Catholics ignoring their Easter duty, 
are deprived of Christian burial when they die. Their pros- 
pects on the other side are not very encouraging." 

" And what about Protestants ? " enquired Rocco. 

" If they firmly believe in Christ, and are baptized," replied 
Fr. Michaels, " and honestly seek the one true religion, they 
can be saved. It won't be through their false sect, but through 
the Catholic Church, to the soul of which they belong, although 
apparently not members. Those failing through human re- 
spect or other worldly motives, to join the one true church in 
which they believe, cannot expect to be saved while in that 
state, for Christ has said: ' Whosoever shall deny me before 
men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.' 
Pagans, who never heard of the true church, nor had a chance 
to enter it, will not be condemned by reason of their unbelief, 
but on account of other sins committed. God will afford them 
an occasion to embrace the true faith rather than let them 
perish without their fault. The Catholic indifferentist cannot 
allege this pretext. God gives him ample opportunity to prac- 
tice his religion. He has perhaps, the edifying example of 
his wife and children. Reverses in business, illness, or other 
misfortunes are providentially permitted in order to open his 



30 Polemic Chat 

eyes to the importance of his salvation. Let him not be de- 
ceived by the vain hope of rectifying a sinful life by a deathbed 
repentance. At that supreme moment may be verified the 
words of our Savior : ' You shall seek me, you shall not find 
me, and you shall die in your sin.' " 



CHAPTER VI 

ONE TRUE RELIGION 

" Heads down ! " exclaimed Rocco, preparing to let the sail 
swing over to the other side. " A basso Zi Pre," 1 he con- 
tinued, in an effort at humor, " if that boom ever struck you, 
we could say : That was the blow that killed Father." 

Fr. Michaels didn't need a second invitation, but promptly 
crouched down and crawled over to the larboard side as the 
boat veered around on the homeward tack. 

" A short time ago," said Rocco, " I stopped to listen to 
one of those curbstone orators on North Clark Street. He 
claimed that every religion was good ; that only bigoted, intol- 
erant people want all men to adopt their mode of belief. All 
churches are just like the railroads to New York. You can 
take the Lake Shore, the Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio, 
Wabash, Erie or in fact any road running east. So it is with 
the man wishing to reach heaven. He may select whatever 
denomination suits his particular fancy, because they all have 
heaven as their terminal. What do you think of that theory, 
Father?" 

" Very plausible," replied Fr. Michaels, " at least to the 
ignorant failing to detect in it, what philosophers call begging 
the question, or asking us to take for granted what must be 
proven. It reminds me of an incident that happened in 1875, 
upon returning with my parents from a journey abroad. 
Scarcely had we landed than we were besieged by a horde of 
railroad agents. One of them made a most fervid appeal for 
the Baltimore & Ohio. ' Why for safety, comfort and natural 
scenery,' he declared, ' it is simply unsurpassed. It is the only 

1 " Down with Uncle Priest." " Uncle Priest " is a familiar title 
given the Clergy in Southern Italy. 

31 



2,2 Polemic Chat 

route affording you an opportunity to behold one of the seven 
wonders of the world — the Great Niagara Falls ! ' His ora- 
tory thrilled my juvenile mind. ' Oh, let us go that way ! ' I ex- 
claimed, in anticipation of the wonderful sight, having never 
seen the famous cataract, except in my geography. We went 
that way and didn't come within several hundred miles of the 
falls. It was one continual bump the bumps during the entire 
night, rendering sleep impossible. Although having left New 
York on Friday afternoon, we reached South Chicago about 7 
o'clock Sunday morning where we remained until noon, wait- 
ing for a switch engine to come and pull away a derailed 
freight car that blocked the track. Now all churches do not 
lead to heaven any more than all roads lead to Niagara. 
Hence it is prudent to make sure beforehand that you are 
aboard the right train, that you are in the one true Church, else 
you may wake up in eternity quite a distance from the place 
you intended to reach. While there are several routes to New 
York, the only way of reaching Heaven is by the way of God's 
commandments and the precepts of His Church. ' If thou wilt 
enter into my life, keep the commandments. He that heareth 
not the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publi- 
can.' Our Lord never intended to establish or sanction vari- 
ous conflicting denominations. He desired one corporate body 
with all the members united under one visible chief. Since 
His Church is a visible body, it must have a visible head. • I 
pray for them also who, through their word shall believe in 
me ; that they all may be one as thou, Father in me and I in 
thee.' Our Savior prayed that His followers might be united 
in a common faith, just as He and the Father are united in one 
and the same divine nature. ' Be careful,' says St. Paul, ' to 
keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ; one body and 
one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling; one 
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, one Father of all.' 
The same Apostle exhorts us ' that henceforth we be no longer 
children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. He 
places schism and heresy in the same class with murder and 
idolatry and declares that the authors of sects shall not possess 



One True Religion 33 

the kingdom of God. Sects therefore, cannot have the same 
terminal as the one, true Church. Did you ever consider what 
religion really is ? " 

" No," replied Rocco. 

" If you did," said Fr. Michaels, " you would see how 
stupid it is for anyone to assert that every religion is good. 
Religion is a virtue obliging man to render true homage to his 
Creator. Since there is but one Creator and the moral duty 
of rendering Him homage arises from one and the same abso- 
lute dependence upon Him which all men equally possess, it 
follows that religion must be essentially one. From the syn- 
agogue it passed to the Christian Church, just as the seed 
passing through the various phases of growth, finally develops 
into a majestic tree. If there was not one true religion, men 
could never invent false ones. Falsehood never exists alone. 
It presupposes truth. Spurious representations can only be 
made of the original. If there was not a genuine currency 
authorized by the government, counterfeits would be impos- 
sible. The children of Noah strove in their conceit, to reach 
heaven by erecting the tower of Babel. Their foolish enter- 
prise culminated in the confusion and multiplication of lan- 
guages. The so-called reformers of the XVI century endeav- 
ored to lead men to Heaven by the private interpretation of 
the Bible. Their efforts terminated in the confusion and mul- 
tiplication of sects." 

" Well, Father," said Rocco, " Protestants certainly know 
more about the Bible than we do. There is an apostate Italian 
in our neighborhood who can quote it by the yard." 

" Oh," said Fr. Michaels, " if by we you simply mean in- 
dividuals like yourself and brothers, who never hear the 
Word of God from one end of the year to the other, I readily 
concede. You certainly know less about the Bible than 
church-going Protestants. Practical Catholics know the Bible 
better and have a far deeper respect for it than their separated 
brethren. We regard it as the inspired word of God and 
firmly believe that He authorized the Church alone to interpret 
its true meaning. The Bible may be compared to the Ameri- 



34 Polemic Chat 

can Constitution. Individuals have no right to interpret it 
according to caprice, otherwise the republic would be of short 
duration. It would rapidly become like Protestantism, and 
we would soon be speaking, not of the United, but of 
the Divided States. All are bound to abide by the decisions of 
the Supreme Court. Our Lord established His Supreme 
Court and Supreme Judge whose duty is to give us the true 
interpretation of the Bible. He authorized the Bishops and 
priests of His Church to go forth and teach all nations. Like 
their Divine Master they speak as having authority, because 
they are furnished with credentials just as authentic as those 
given to the Apostles themselves. ' As the Father hath sent 
me, I also send you. He that heareth you, heareth me. He 
that despiseth you, despiseth me.' The indifferentist mani- 
fests his unwillingness to hear the Church. He displays the 
utmost contempt for her precepts by neglecting Holy Mass 
and the sacraments. According to our Divine Redeemer, he 
ought to be regarded in the same way as were the heathen and 
publican by the chosen people of Israel, viz : avoided and con- 
sidered outside the pale of salvation." 

" Eh, Padre," said the elder Minchione, as he held the gun- 
wale of the boat close to the pier for him to land, " iss alia 
right. Whena we cooma to shoorsh, we cooma to Catolica 
Shoorsh." 

" Yes," said Fr. Michael, " some day you will perhaps real- 
ize that while to eat, drink, sleep and gratify the senses may 
suit the animal kingdom, man was placed upon earth for a 
higher destiny." 



CHAPTER VII 

NUPTIAL MASS 

St. Ann's Church presented a gala appearance. The altar 
always trim and tidy, seemed on this occasion more profusely 
decorated than usual with fresh cut flowers. Palms and ferns 
were tastily arranged about the sanctuary while the shelves of 
the altar presented a variegated mass of roses and nasturtiums, 
sweet-peas, lilacs and carnations. Four prie-Dieus occupied 
the space midway between the lowest altar step and the com- 
munion rail. There w r as to be a wedding that morning. Fr. 
Michaels had already vested and with two acolytes clothed in 
cassocks and snow white surplices, patiently awaited the ar- 
rival of the bridal couple. 

" Father, they're coming ! " excitedly whispered one of the 
boys, as the clatter of horses' hoofs and the creak of carriage 
wheels could be heard distinctly from the direction of the 
street. 

"Well, light the candles," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " and be 
careful to not upset the flower vases." 

Bride and groom had been to confession the day before 
and with their witnesses had carefully rehearsed the marriage 
ceremony. Fr. Michaels mounted the altar steps and turning 
around faced the congregation, as the nervous twain moved 
slowly up the aisle in rhythm with the majestic processional 
march that pealed forth from the organ. They made no pause 
until reaching the lowest altar step. Fr. Michaels reminded 
them of the sacredness of the union upon which they were 
about to enter — how our Lord raised marriage to the dignity 
of a sacrament, and annexed to its worthy reception special 
graces, thus enabling husband and wife to faithfully discharge 

35 



2)6 Polemic Chat 

their important duties. After joining them in wedlock they 
returned to their prie-Dieus, while Fr. Michaels began the 
Nuptial Mass. At the end of the Pater Noster they came 
forward and knelt on the lowest altar step. The priest turn- 
ing around recited over them the first part of the Nuptial 
Blessing after which he continued the Mass. Having received 
Holy Communion they returned to their places where they 
remained kneeling in prayer and thanksgiving. Following the 
Ite missa est, Fr. Michaels turned around once more and pro- 
nounced over them the last part of the Nuptial Benediction: 
" May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob be with you, and may He fulfil His blessing upon you, 
that you may see your children's children unto the third and 
fourth generation, and may afterward have everlasting life, 
without end, by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, with 
the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth God, 
world without end. Amen." He briefly exhorted them to 
keep ever in mind the mutual love and fidelity they had pledged 
each other. " Walk constantly," he said, " in the way of 
God's commandments and the precepts of His Church. Let 
His Holy Will direct you in all your actions. It will enable 
you to bear each other's burdens. It will promote your happi- 
ness here and prepare you for a more lasting happiness here- 
after." Then sprinkling them with holy water, and giving the 
customary blessing to the people, he finished the Mass. About 
ten minutes later as he proceeded down the aisle he noticed 
Miss Seymour in the lower end of the church and beckoned her 
to follow him. Mrs. Grebma was seated in an open carriage 
that stood at the front of the church. 

" Good morning, Madame," said Fr. Michaels, as he ap- 
proached her. " Allow me to introduce Miss Seymour of 
Chicago, who is spending the summer with friends at the East 
End." The ladies exchanged a formal greeting. " That was 
a very pretty wedding you had, Father," said Mrs. Grebma. 
" Don't you think so ? " she continued, glancing toward Miss 
Seymour. 

" Very impressive," replied the latter. 



Nuptial Mass 37 

" Miss Seymour is not a Catholic, but hopes to become one 
in the near future," said Fr. Michaels. 

" Oh, what a pity, that we were not near each other during 
the ceremony," exclaimed Mrs. Grebma. " I would have 
loaned you my manual containing a translation of all the 
prayers recited. Fr. Michaels insists upon his parishioners 
being married at Mass. It adds so much solemnity to the 
reception of the sacrament and tends to make the married cou- 
ple realize more fully the important step they are taking. 
Then there is the special blessing that is never imparted outside 
of Mass, is it, Father?" 

" No, Ma'am. It can only be given during Mass," replied 
Fr. Michaels. " Afternoon and evening marriages are really 
an abuse that ought to be universally discouraged." 

" I thought," said Miss Seymour, " that our Lord dis- 
couraged all external worship when He said : The hour com- 
eth and now is when the true adorers shall adore the Father 
in spirit and in truth." 

" When external worship expresses the sentiments of the 
heart," replied Fr. Michaels, " it is really adoration in spirit 
and in truth. How could our Lord discourage that which He 
Himself did and commended in others? When He fell pros- 
trate to the ground before His Heavenly Father in the Garden 
of Olives, that was external worship, as was also the act of 
the publican striking his breast and exclaiming: Lord, be 
merciful to me a sinner. Don't you think that in both in- 
stances it was adoration in spirit and in truth? Striking the 
breast, making the sign of the cross, bowing and genuflecting 
are dictated by what we feel in our hearts. As to sacrifice, 
mankind with few exceptions, have always made it the chief 
act of religion. The prophet Malachy declared that the Jew- 
ish sacrifices were to be abrogated. ' I will not accept a gift 
from your hand. For my name is great among the gentiles. 
And in every place there is sacrifice and there is offered up to 
my name, a clean oblation from the rising to the setting of the 
sun.' In the Catholic Church alone, we find this prophecy 
accomplished in the daily sacrifice of the Mass. ' We Chris- 



38 Polemic Chat 

tians/ says St. Paul, ' have an altar whereof they cannot eat 
who serve the tabernacle/ If the Christian Church has an 
altar it must also have its own peculiar sacrifice, for the one 
implies the existence of the other. The priesthood of Christ 
was established to offer a distinct sacrifice. ' The Lord hath 
sworn and shall not repent ; thou art a priest forever according 
to the order of Melchisedech.' Genesis tells us that Melchis- 
edech, the king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, for 
he was a priest of the most high God and he blessed Abram. 
Now at the last Supper our Lord took bread and blessed it 
and gave it to His disciples, saying, take ye and eat : * This is 
my body which shall be delivered for you. He gave them 
also the chalice, saying: Drink ye all of this, for this chalice 
is my blood in the New Testament. This do ye, for as often 
as you eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall show the 
death of the Lord until He come/ If our Lord did not exer- 
cise His priestly office on that occasion according to order of 
Melchisedech, He never did so, and hence could not be truth- 
fully called ' a priest according to the order of Melchisedech/ 
In every place from the rising to the setting of the sun our 
Lord continues through the instrumentality of His priests to 
offer up the clean oblation of His adorable body and blood un- 
der the appearances of bread and wine in the holy sacrifice of 
the Mass." 

" But doesn't the Mass derogate from the sacrifice of the 
cross ? " asked Miss Seymour. 

" How can it ? " replied Fr. Michaels, " since it applies to 
us no merits of its own, but simply those of the cross of which 
it is a permanent memorial. Christ Himself established the 
sacrifice of the Mass and commanded His Apostles to celebrate 
it when He said : ' Do this for a commemoration of Me/ " 

" Well," continued Miss Seymour, " why don't the priests 
say it in English so that the people may understand it ? " 

" The Apostles," said Fr. Michaels, " preached the gospel 
in Latin and Greek — the two languages then chiefly spoken 
by the civilized world. When they became dead languages and 
invariable, they were providentially suited to accurately express 



Nuptial Mass 39 

the doctrine of the Catholic Church that never varies, because 
it is divine. Living languages constantly changing are best 
suited for man-made churches whose members are continually 
1 tossed about to and fro by every wind of doctrine.' The 
devout Catholic has no difficulty in following intelligently the 
holy sacrifice of the Mass. He regards the celebrant as an- 
other Christ and the altar as another Calvary. The alb worn 
by the priest reminds him of the white robe with which Herod 
clothed our Savior in derision. The cincture, stole and mani- 
ple represent the chains and cords with which our Lord was 
bound. Every movement of the priest at the altar symbolizes 
some phase or other of our Lord's passion and death. Now 
Miss Seymour, here is a catechism. You may begin with the 
prayers and learn them by heart. Every practical Catholic 
recites them morning and evening. Take a chapter for each 
lesson and recite to Mrs. Grebma when convenient. When 
you have finished the catechism I will give you a post-graduate 
course." 

" I am afraid," said Mrs. Grebma, " that I will make a very 
poor instructor." 

" Banish all fear, Madame," said Fr. Michaels. " Anyone 
who graduated a pew full of grown-ups as you did, shouldn't 
have the word ' failure ' in her vocabulary. 

" Mrs. Grebma," he explained to Miss Seymour, " is deeply 
interested in an Italian Mission where Sunday School takes 
place after the children's Mass. The teachers have difficulty 
in keeping the grown people out of the church until after the 
dismissal of Sunday School. Some months ago three Italian 
men took possession of one of the pews. Madame addressed 
them in her most persuasive tone : ' Excuse me, Gentlemen, 
but you must vacate. You are usurping the places of the chil- 
dren.' The signori evidently did not understand, for they 
did not budge. ' Oh, well,' she added, ' if you wish to join the 
Sunday School you may remain. How many gods are there ? ' 
Next! Next! The question passed unanswered down the 
line and the trio passed quietly out the front door." 

" Oh, I am hardly as exacting as Father would have yon 



40 Polemic Chat 

imagine," said Mrs. Grebma. " Won't you kindly drive home 
with me, Miss Seymour ? " 

The latter accepted the invitation and as the carriage dis- 
appeared towards the village, Fr. Michaels entered his house. 



CHAPTER VIII 

CATHOLIC EDUCATION 

" That was a formidable charge Bolce made in the Cos- 
mopolitan against the universities," said Mr. Grebma to Fr. 
Michaels, as both sat one afternoon upon the veranda of the 
Wawashkamo Club House. " Some of the professors, he 
claims, have assailed the Rock of Ages. They reject the divin- 
ity of Christ and His miracles and repudiate the inspiration of 
the Bible. In fact, with their advocacy of free love, abolition 
of private ownership and other vagaries, they have turned 
their lecture halls into nurseries of socialism, anarchy and 
atheism." 

" If his statements are false," said Fr. Michaels, " the uni- 
versities may sue the magazine." 

" There is little danger of a libel suit," commented Mr. 
Grebma. " Bolce attended the lecture courses for several 
years in those institutions before he began to attack them." 

" What effect will his exposure produce upon the public ? " 
asked Fr. Michaels. 

" Oh, just a momentary sensation," replied Mr. Grebma. 
" The average Protestant will denounce Bolce as a muck raker, 
and wealthy Catholics will continue sending their boys to sec- 
tarian and state universities, unless some concerted action be 
taken by the bishops. Our people are fascinated by the social 
prestige which the diploma from such institutions affords their 
graduates. While the thought of having their boys under 
the guidance of atheistic professors may not be very encour- 
aging, they smother the qualms of conscience with the assur- 
ance that their sons are immune and in no danger of being 
inoculated with pernicious theories." 

4i 



42 Polemic Chat 

" Yes," mused Fr. Michaels, " there is just the trouble. 
Fond parents imagine their blue-eyed Willie with cuffs on his 
trousers and a fried egg cap on his empty pate an angel without 
wings, who couldn't go wrong if he tried. Religion, however, 
tells a different story. It informs us that we all have been 
born in the state of original sin which darkened our understand- 
ing, weakened our will, and left in us a strong inclination to 
evil. We naturally tend towards the point of least resistance, 
and it is easier to yield to our passions than to oppose them. 
We chafe under restraint. Our natural propensities militate 
against law which restricts our liberty. Like the Hibernian 
desiring to join the party ' agin the governmint,' so we are 
naturally against whatever curtails our freedom. Youth 
doesn't need the encouragement of infidel professors to find 
the observance of the decalogue irksome. What effect will it 
have on the morals of our young men, if in the universities 
they be taught to despise what in childhood they regarded as 
most sacred? Will they keep the commandments better by 
being taught to regard them as the inherited experience of 
simian ancestors, or as the revealed law of God Who shall one 
day reward the good and punish the wicked? If our young 
people be instructed to consider conscience as a bugaboo, a 
survival of the ghost-scare period, it won't take them long to 
break through every mortal restraint. If, on the other hand, 
they be taught to regard it as the law of God, written on the 
heart of man and speaking to man with the voice of authority, 
then they will hearken to its dictates and try to lead virtuous 
lives." 

" Well," said Mr. Inkstorm, a journalist, who had just fin- 
ished a round of the links, and was settling with his caddie, 
" my boy attends the public school. I don't believe in forcing 
religion upon a child. This is a free country and when he 
grows up, he can choose for himself." 

"Did you teach him to walk in infancy?" ventured Fr. 
Michaels. 

" Oh, his mother taught him that stunt," replied Inkstorm. 

" Too bad," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " that he was not allowed 



Catholic Education 43 

to crawl on all fours until he grew up. You should have let 
him choose his own mode of locomotion." 

" Why so sarcastic, Father ? " asked Inkstorm, somewhat ir- 
ritated. 

" In order to impress the truth more forcibly upon your 
mind/' replied Fr. Michaels. " By neglecting the religious ed- 
ucation of your boy, you are exposing his soul to spiritual 
paralysis. That is a greater crime than the neglect of his 
physical development, since we must take more care of our 
soul than our body." 

" Well," said Inkstorm, " in order to keep soul and body 
together, one must learn how to make a living. The great 
trouble with the parochial schools is that they teach too much 
religion and tod little of the three R's." 

" Your statement is not verified by facts," replied Fr. Mi- 
chaels. " Our graduates compare most favorably with those 
of any secular institution. In addressing an association of 
public school teachers a prominent statesman recently asserted 
that there must be something radically wrong when, out of 440 
applicants for admission to Annapolis, 330 failed to pass in 
reading, writing and arithmetic ! The trouble with the public 
school system doesn't arise from the branches it teaches (ex- 
cepting certain fads spasmodically introduced), but from the 
absence of moral training it fails to impart. While theoret- 
ically non-sectarian, it has practically become a promoter of 
socialism and agnosticism. Of socialism clamoring for the 
secularization of schools and the distribution of everything 
connected with them free of charge. Of agnosticism claiming 
to know nothing of God, and insisting upon teachers and pupils 
being placed in the same category of religious ignorance. It 
is not so long ago that a work on political economy was rejected 
as a text book from the High Schools of Chicago, because it 
began with the declaration that ' All natural wealth is due to 
the beneficence of God.' If you wish your boy to grow up 
ignorant of his duties to God, to his parents and to his fellow- 
men, you have selected the best school for that purpose. Cath- 
olics, however, will continue to send their children to Catholic 



44 Polemic Chat 

schools, colleges, academies and universities. When they 
graduate they won't be freaks with big minds and little wills, 
with giant knowledge and pigmy morals, because the develop- 
ment of their character will not have been neglected. It is 
related in the story of Ben-Hur that, when obliged to row on 
the galleys of his captor, he requested to be changed occasion- 
ally from one side of the boat to the other. He wanted the 
muscles of both arms and shoulders to develop equally. He 
did not wish to reach maturity with the right biceps of a man 
and the left biceps of a baby. Likewise the Church desires 
a complete education of her children. She wants them to row 
on both sides of the vessel, on the will side as well as on the 
mind side. That is why she desires religion to enter into the 
daily curriculum of their studies. Why should we open every 
avenue of secular knowledge to our children and close the one 
leading to God ? It is said that in the Mammoth Cave you can 
find fishes that have eyes and see not. No ray of light ever 
beamed upon their optic nerve. Hence those fishes spend their 
whole lives in obscurity and blindness. Shall our children 
grow up spiritually blind to the purpose for which they were 
created and to the means for its attainment, because the light 
of religious truth was not allowed to shine upon them during 
the impressionable age of innocence? Not if we can help it. 
We don't propose to make mammoth caves of our schools." 

" But can't the children get enough religious instruction 
at home or in the Sunday School ? " asked Mr. Inkstorm. 

" No, they cannot," replied Fr. Michaels. " The majority 
of parents have neither the time nor qualifications to impart 
religious instruction. Nobody can give to others what he 
doesn't possess himself. We don't want our children to ac- 
quire the notion that religion is a Sunday luxury to be worn 
with their Sunday suit which is taken off again as soon as 
possible and carefully hung in the cedar doset until the next 
holiday. The juvenile mind must be impressed with the idea 
that religion is an everyday necessity, to be exhibited in our 
conduct at all times, that the ten commandments must be ob- 
served on week days just as well as the rules of grammar and 



Catholic Education 45 

arithmetic. How will they familiarize themselves with their 
religious duties if they only hear about them once a week? 
The Sunday School is at best a makeshift to supply the de- 
ficiency of religious education in the locality where no paro- 
chial school exists. Suppose your boy showed talent for law 
or medicine, painting or music. How much progress would 
he make in any of those branches, if allowed to study them 
but one hour a week, and at a time when he ought to be out- 
doors enjoying the fresh air with his playmates? It matters 
not whether he becomes a lawyer or a doctor, an artist or 
a musician, a merchant, mechanic or manual laborer, which is 
not dishonorable. Whatever trade or profession he adopts, 
he certainly has the sublime vocation to become a practical 
Christian, an honest, temperate, industrious and useful mem- 
ber of society. If he fails in the attainment of this vocation, 
upon whom largely rests the responsibility of his failure, if 
not upon the parents? 'He that hath not care of his own/ 
says St. Paul, ' hath denied the faith and is worse than an in- 
fidel.' " 



CHAPTER IX 

SECRET SOCIETIES 

Fr. Michaels said Mass Sunday morning at six o'clock. 
This mass was familiarly known as '" the Manitou Special," 
because it afforded those embarking on the steamship a chance 
to comply with the first precept of the Church. Fr. Michaels 
was to sail that morning for Chicago, en route for Pittsburg, 
where he expected to assist at the ordination of a young Bene- 
dictine and preach at his first mass. The purser, an exemplary 
Catholic with a predilection for priests, did not have much 
difficulty in persuading the pastor of St. Ann's to exchange 
his inside room for a parlor cabin. At precisely 8 o'clock 
the deafening sound of the whistle like the bourdon of a cathe- 
dral organ, reverberated through the Straits all the way up to 
les Cheneaux ; the gang-plank was pulled ashore and the Man- 
itou gradually receded from her dock, never turning her prow 
southward until she had cleared the buoy. A half hour later, 
while strolling about the upper deck, Fr. Michaels encoun- 
tered Mr. Paxton comfortably seated in a corner and deeply 
absorbed in a novel. As the latter arose to greet him, the 
priest made two discoveries : Mr. Paxton wore a miniature 
square and compass in the lapel of his coat, and the book 
which he held in his hand was a salacious romance by Emile 
Zola. Fr. Michaels' gaze wandered with visible disgust from 
the Masonic emblem to the book, and as he was about to con- 
tinue his promenade Paxton caught him by the arm and 
pleaded with him to remain. " There is really no advantage 
in my losing time with you," said the priest. " When you 
called at my house, you left me under the impression that you 
were a Catholic." 

46 



Secret Societies 47 

" Why, so I am, Father. What do you mean ? " asked Pax- 
ton. 

" By the symbol you have there on exhibition," said the 
priest, " you publicly profess membership in a society con- 
demned by the Church." 

" Oh," exclaimed Paxton, " I have not ceased to be a Cath- 
olic. I still believe in the Church." 

" Yes," commented Fr. Michaels. " You still believe in 
ignoring her commands. You must be either a Catholic or a 
Mason. You cannot be both simultaneously because a Catho- 
lic Mason is a contradiction. You might as well claim to be 
a Catholic-Protestant or a Catholic- Jew." 

" I fail to see what harm there can be for me to belong to 
the Masonic lodge," said Paxton. " It helps me socially and 
commercially. Masonry is philanthropic and benevolent just 
like societies thriving under the Church's sanction and protec- 
tion." 

" As yet," said Fr. Michaels, " you have probably not ad- 
vanced beyond the Knife and Fork Degree. Hence to you the 
inner workings of the Craft are a sealed book. You derive 
all the harm that can be found in renouncing the rights and 
privileges of a free-born Christian. Masonry and its kindred 
organizations have been condemned not only on account of 
the slavery imposed upon the will of the members through the 
oath of blind obedience and secrecy, but more especially be- 
cause while feigning to be ' the hand-maid of religion,' they 
are really striving to supplant the Church of Jesus Christ. 
Catholics are forbidden to join them for the same reason that 
they are forbidden to become Protestants of any denomination 
whatsoever. Secret societies with their chaplains and prelates, 
hymns and Bible, religious symbols and ceremonies have all 
the characteristics of a sect. In Europe Masonry is brazenly 
frank in its hostility to Christianity and to all the political 
and social institutions having Christian principles for their 
basis." 

" But, Father," said Paxton, " you certainly know that 



48 Polemic Chat 

American Freemasonry is not atheistic or anti-Christian like 
the kind existing in continental Europe." 

" Yes," replied Fr. Michaels, " I personally know prominent 
American Masons who would scorn to adopt the contemptible 
tactics of their Masonic brethren in Mexico, South America, 
Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. Yet according to its ritual 
the spirit of Masonry is supposed to be the same the world 
over. Why do they prefer to hold their meeting under the 
mantle of darkness rather than let their light so shine before 
men that we may all see their good works and glorify our 
Father who is in heaven ? Their very title : Free-masons is a 
misnomer. They sacrificed their freedom by an ironclad oath 
binding them to keep mum the secrets of the lodge under pain 
of the most excruciating tortures. The vast majority of them 
are business and professional men, clerks, drummers and poli- 
ticians who would scarcely recognize a mason's trowel if they 
saw one." 

" You cannot deny that they do a lot of good," said Pax- 
ton. 

" Yes," replied the priest, " especially to their own mem- 
bers. Whenever there is a civic function such as laying the 
corner stone of a court house, city hall, post office or public 
library, the fraternity is usually in the fore usurping the place 
of honor. From their prominence on such occasions one might 
imagine that these public edifices were financed by the Craft 
instead of by the tax payers. This aggressiveness should not 
be tolerated, for it is sectarian and un-American. Did you 
ever hear of the execution or life imprisonment of a thirty- 
third degree Mason? The machinery of justice usually stops 
short like grandpa's clock if Masonic influence manages to 
reach judge or jury. At one time only those labeled with a 
Masonic emblem could advance in political, professional or 
commercial life. Fortunately that period has passed. Now- 
adays employers do not require the Catholic applicant to re- 
nounce his faith before giving him a position of trust. They 
ascertain beforehand whether he is an honest, sober, industri- 
ous and practical Catholic. They know that if he robs his 



Secret Societies 49 

employer, the confessor will bind him to restitution before he 
can approach the sacraments." 

"What about the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias?" 
asked Mr. Paxton. 

" Both were specifically condemned by Pope Leo XIII," 
replied Fr. Michaels. " The term, Odd, in its obvious mean- 
ing, signifies queer, strange, eccentric. The candidate seeking 
the third and highest degree of truth in the Odd Fellowship, is 
asked : ' What he expects from the truth ? ' Answer : ' It will 
teach him his duty to God and his fellowman.' Those Catho- 
lics are certainly odd who join a lodge usurping the teaching 
authority of the Church. It was to the Apostles and their 
successors, and not to the Odd Fellows that our Savior gave 
the commission to instruct us in our duties to God and our 
fellowman. According to St. Paul, no man should take upon 
himself the functions of the ministry, but he that is called by 
God as Aaron was. The Knights of Pythias, ignoring the cal- 
endar of Christian saints and martyrs, had recourse to hea- 
thenism for a patron saint. The self-sacrificing love of Pyth- 
ias was bestowed upon one man — his bosom friend, Damon. 
Pythian benevolence is restricted to one class, viz. : to brother 
knights prompt in the payment of their dues. Their benevo- 
lence is equivalent to that of an insurance company. The 
Pythian lodge, like that of the Odd Fellows, is a vestibule to 
freemasonry. The Catholic prostrating himself before a Pyth- 
ian prelate, and swearing most solemnly ' to obey all orders 
that may be given by the council of ten,' forswears his alle- 
giance to the Catholic Church and incurs excommunication." 

" I was told," said Mr. Paxton, "that in 1896 the Pope re- 
voked the condemnation of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pyth- 
ias and Sons of Temperance." 

" You were misinformed," replied Fr. Michaels. " It was 
urged that a gross injustice had been committed against quite 
a number of Catholics who had joined these societies in good 
faith. Without rescinding the condemnation the Holy Father 
allowed an appeal to be made to the Apostolic Delegate in each 
particular case wherein these four conditions were verified : 



50 Polemic Chat 

" ' i. If the Catholic joined any of these societies before he 
knew of its condemnation by the Church. 

" ' 2. If there be no scandal arising, or if the scandal be 
removed by the timely declaration of the Catholic that his only 
motive in retaining membership is to prevent his losing the 
financial benefits to which he has a claim, and that he will ab- 
stain from all intercourse with the forbidden society. 

" ' 3. If he cannot drop his nominal membership without 
serious damage to himself or his family. 

" ' 4. There must be no danger of perversion for himself or 
family, and in case of death the forbidden society, as such, 
cannot take part in the funeral. The members will not be al- 
lowed to wear their insignia in the Church, nor will they be 
permitted to hold the burial service of their ritual in the house 
of the deceased or in the cemetery/ 

" The concurrence of all four conditions does not mean that 
a bishop or priest can absolve such a person ; it simply means 
that through his pastor or spiritual adviser he may refer his 
case to the Apostolic Delegate at Washington, who shall de- 
cide whether he may continue his nominal membership in the 
forbidden society and still approach the sacraments. Of 
course in danger of death a member may be absolved by any 
confessor, provided he promises to submit his case to the 
Apostolic Delegate in case of recovery, and to abide by the 
latter's decision. The true Catholic, having at heart his eter- 
nal salvation, knows that the Church for wise and prudent 
reasons has placed the ban of her disapproval upon these se- 
cret societies, and that she forbids her members to join them 
under pain of excommunication. The uncertain hope of tem- 
poral gain through the transgression of her precept will fail 
to fascinate him, for he will keep in mind the words of our 
Divine Redeemer : ' Seek ye first the kingdorn of God and His 
justice and all these things shall be added unto you.' ' : 



CHAPTER X 

INDEX OF PROHIBITED BOOKS 

The conversation was momentarily interrupted by the ap- 
proach of the Captain. 

" Good morning," said the latter, extending his hand. " Go- 
ing with us all the way, Father ? " 

" Yes, Captain," replied Fr. Michaels. " I am bound for 
Pittsburgh and from there to Buffalo, where I hope to take the 
Northwest back to Mackinac." 

" That ought to make a delightful trip, especially through 
the St. Clair Flats," said the Captain. Whereupon he mounted 
the companion way leading to the hurricane deck and disap- 
peared in the pilot house. 

" You seem to be well acquainted with the officers of the 
boat," remarked Paxton. 

"Why not?" replied Fr. Michaels. "Most of them are 
Catholics and they never miss the six o'clock mass during the 
entire season. Where did you get that abominable book ? " he 
continued, pointing to the volume on the chair. 

" Oh," replied Paxton, " I just got it to pass away the time. 
It can't do me any harm. I'm no spring chicken." 

" You are too tough to be accused of that," commented the 
priest, with a smile that rather softened the asperity of the 
remark. 

Ignoring the thrust, Paxton mustered up courage to re- 
tort : " What right has the Church to dictate what we should 
or should not read ? " 

" Let me answer that," said Fr. Michaels, " by asking you 
what right the U. S. government has to exercise censorship 
over the press, or to forbid, under the severest penalties, the 

5i 



52 Polemic Chat 

transmission of immoral literature through the mails? If the 
Church has a right to interfere in anything, it is in regard to 
the retention and perusal of literature which she deems likely 
to corrupt the faith and morals of her children.. Nobody 
questions the right of the state to enforce the Pure Food and 
Drug Act, the abolition of the common drinking cup and other 
sanitary precautions for safeguarding the temporal life of the 
citizens. Why then should not the Church enforce similar 
measures for protecting the spiritual life of her members? 
The Church is a teaching authority and must, therefore, in- 
struct. Our Lord made her a guide and hence she must lead. 
He appointed her the custodian of revealed truth and she 
must keep it intact. She is styled by St. Paul, ' the pillar and 
ground of truth.' She must resist then, all errors opposing 
truth. She is a religious tribunal and must settle all doubts 
regarding what we must believe and what we must do. No 
earthly power can change her from what she was originally 
intended to be by her Divine Founder. Catholics make pro- 
fession of their belief in all this when they repeat in the Apos- 
tles' Creed : ' I believe in the Holy, Catholic Church.' But 
how could she exercise all these offices so essential to her na- 
ture and constitution if she had no right to declare : This book 
contains sound doctrine ; that one does not ? " 

" I don't see," said Paxton, " how the Church will gain any- 
thing by treating us like children." 

" Nor do I see," replied Fr. Michaels, " how we can gain 
heaven, unless we become humble as little children. The 
Church has always exercised a censorship over the books to 
be read by her members. In the Acts XIX, it is related how 
the Ephesian converts brought together at the instigation of 
St. Paul, their superstitious books to the value of 50,000 pieces 
of silver and cast them into the flames. In subsequent ages 
heretical writings were condemned according: as they appeared. 
To guard the faithful against improper and dangerous read- 
ing, St. Pius V established the Sacred Congregation of the 
Index. While fostering literature, science and art, the Church 
has never allowed her children the indiscriminate reading of 



Index of Prohibited Books 53 

all kinds of books, pamphlets or newspapers. With the in- 
vention of the printing press came the present-day system of 
licensing books, viz. : the Nihil obstat of the Censor and the 
Imprimatur of the bishop in whose diocese a work on faith or 
morals is published. The Council of Trent formed a Cata- 
logue of the most pernicious books extant at that period and 
the sovereign pontiffs have repeatedly warned the faithful 
against all literature prejudicial to their spiritual welfare. 
Pius X commands the bishops to do everything in their power 
to drive out of their dioceses whatever bad books may be there 
in circulation. We have then both the fact and the right con- 
firming the Church's authority to interfere and act as judge 
in such matters." 

" Yes," said Paxton with some bitterness, u the Catholic 
Church is about the only one curtailing its members in this re- 
spect." 

" Methodists," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " claim the right for 
their conferences to proscribe whatever books their communi- 
cants ought not to read. Rarely can you find a strict Metho- 
dist or Presbyterian perusing a Catholic publication." 

" As a matter of fact, Father," said Paxton, " wasn't the 
Index of prohibited books made for the weak and ignorant? " 

" Ye shades of Samson and Solomon ! " exclaimed the priest, 
" do you place yourself for a moment in the category of the 
strong and wise? Where the Church makes no distinction, 
we are not permitted to discriminate in the application of her 
ordinances. Goodbye to the laws, if such a flimsy reason suf- 
ficed to exempt us from their observance. Where is the man 
so lacking in self confidence as not to imagine himself capable 
of tending to his duty without the law's intervention? The 
average reader thinks of what he reads. A bad book cannot 
produce good thoughts any more than a bad tree can bring 
forth good fruit. The conscience of every Christian tells him 
that to familiarize himself with unclean literature, whatever 
may be the beauty of its form or the attractiveness of its style, 
is morally wrong. No one who really loves Jesus Christ can 
enjoy reading what tends to weaken Christian faith any more 



54 Polemic Chat 

than affectionate children can take pleasure in hearing the vili- 
fication of their parents." 

" The Church does not credit her members with much dis- 
cernment," said Paxton. 

"If our Lord wished us to rely upon private judgment in 
matters of faith or morals," replied the priest, " he would 
not have established a visible teaching authority in His church. 
In books against faith how easily a sophism is presented, a 
dogma derided, an historical fact distorted ! How few Catho- 
lic readers have the mental acumen, the analytic faculty and 
erudition to refute subtle attacks upon their religion! There 
is your filthy romance whose author claims to depict life of 
the underworld as it actually is and truth cannot be immoral ! 
Never was there a more infamous principle uttered. The mi- 
nute details of a murder, divorce or any revolting crime, may 
be most truthful in their lurid description, yet most demoral- 
izing to the reader. In the average up-to-date novel heroes 
and heroines are usually insipid, unnatural characters whose 
chief trait is some form of degeneracy. Intrigue, revenge, 
assassination, conjugal infidelity, divorce and suicide are vig- 
orously applauded, while the opposite virtues are exposed to 
ridicule. How many young people whose health and virtue 
have been undermined through the continual reading of sa- 
lacious fiction! The constant perusal of depraved literature 
renders the heart and soul morbid, the mind weak and sickly, 
the affections capricious and fickle, the whole man ill at ease, 
yearning for what he has not, and discontented with what he 
has. The misery of it all is that tons of this demoralizing 
rubbish encumber the shelves of our public libraries." 

" They cannot do much damage while on the shelves," said 
Paxton. 

"If men, women and children had not access to them," 
added Fr. Michaels, " but the public library is like the drug 
store containing all kinds of poison as well as healthful medi- 
cines. There is, however, this difference : while the conscien- 
tious pharmacist gives out poison only when filling a doctor's 
prescription and is bound by law to paste the label Poison on 



Index of Prohibited Books 55 

the bottle, any boy or girl may take from the Public Library 
a poisonous book the perusal of which may destroy both soul 
and body. If Catholics should firmly resolve to neither read 
nor buy a book, magazine or newspaper which they know to be 
bad, their action would greatly aid in removing immoral liter- 
ature. It would erect the Christian conscience into a real cen- 
sorship of the press. It would diminish the supply of bad pub- 
lications by lessening the demand. The disreputable editor 
possesses a thick hide. He has, however, one vulnerable spot. 
It is his pocketbook. If, when he outrages public decency, 
Christians en masse should withdraw their advertisements 
from his vile sheet and cancel their subscriptions, the remedy 
would be most efficacious. Recently I saw a paper marked: 
HOME EDITION. The front page contained two views of 
a notorious danseuse scantily attired, with a detailed account 
of her iniquitous escapades. The average colored Sunday 
supplement is an abomination tending to debase instead of to 
elevate the rising generation. Parents should be just as solici- 
tous about the literature of their children as they are about 
their company. An improper book or newspaper should not 
be left around loosely under their grasp any more than a keen 
edged razor or a loaded revolver. The*, library of a home is a 
sure index to its character." 



CHAPTER XI 

EXISTENCE OF GOD 

As the Manitou neared Harbor Springs Fr. Michaels left 
his friend in order to view the scenery. The beautiful bay 
flanked on either side by wooded hills, the steam launches fur- 
rowing boisterously through the placid water and frail canoes 
skimming noiselessly over its surface, formed a most fascinat- 
ing picture. The kaleidoscopic landscape aroused the interest 
of all on board, while the spectators on shore seemed to fix 
their attention on the Manitou as she proceeded majestically 
through the narrow draw to the inner basin. Here she man- 
aged to turn around, thanks to the frantic efforts of a wheezy 
asthmatic little tug that fumed and sputtered, careened and 
wobbled so alarmingly under its herculean task that it seemed 
more likely to capsize than tow its monstrous captive to the 
wharf. After a delay of ten minutes to take on freight and 
passengers, the Manitou resumed her voyage southward. Fr. 
Michaels devoted most of the afternoon and evening to the 
preparation of a sermon. About eight o'clock, while gazing 
in mute admiration at the full moon that shed a path of silvery 
light ahead of the ship, as if to guide her on her way, Mr. Pax- 
ton approached him and said : " Father, what a glorious night 
this is ! Do you think there are any sincere atheists ? " 

" In the course of ages," replied Fr. Michaels, " a few dis- 
cordant notes have been occasionally heard disturbing the gen- 
eral harmony of belief in God's existence. Atheistic clamors 
have usually emanated from individuals whose sole claim to 
notoriety is their infidelity. Their names do not appear upon 
the list of the world's heroes. Rarely if ever did any of them 
distinguish himself in the arena of science, art or literature. 
The handful of atheists from Epicurus down to the bibulous, 

56 



Existence of God 57 

blatant, blasphemous Bob, cut a sorry figure when compared 
to the giant intellects of every century who have professed 
their belief in God. There are two classes of atheists : the 
sensual and the proud. The former find the restraints of the 
decalogue and the menace of eternal punishment embarrassing 
to their bestial proclivities. Hence like the fool in Scripture, 
they say in their heart : ' There is no God.' The latter are so 
dominated by their own superiority that they cannot brook 
correction even when consciously wrong." 

" Well," remarked Paxton, " should anyone ask me to prove 
that there is a God, I wouldn't know what to say." 

" In that case," replied Fr. Michaels, " it would be best for 
you to say nothing or refer your questioner to a priest. If 
anyone told you that this boat made itself, you would conclude 
that he was either joking, or that there was something wrong 
with his brain. If this boat could not make itself, how could 
this wonderful universe bring itself into existence? Com- 
mon sense tells us that there can be no work without a work- 
man. From this axiom we infer that the works of nature 
needed a Master Workman, supreme and distinct from nature. 
In every part of the world we behold marvelous design, ex- 
quisite harmony and complexity of laws. Hence we conclude 
that back of all there must be a wise Designer, Harmonizer 
and Lawgiver. ' All things were made by Him and without 
Him was made nothing that was made.' Man could not create 
himself, for that would involve contradiction. If man created 
himself, then he existed. If he already existed, what need 
was there to create himself? If he did not exist, how did he 
manage to be? He existed then when he didn't exist; he was 
and he wasn't — an evident absurdity. If man could not create 
himself, what brought him into life? Let us ascend from gen- 
eration to generation back to the first man Adam, with whom 
mankind began. If you say that the first man, Adam, also had 
a father and a grandfather and so on indefinitely, you fall into 
the absurdity of admitting an infinite series composed of finite 
parts. We see a limit to the present generation of men and 
we cannot avoid the conviction that there must be also a limit 



58 Polemic Chat 

at the other end. We must eventually come to a fixed point, 
a definite beginning. This point, this beginning is the first 
man who could not create himself. He must, therefore, have 
been created by a Pre-existing Cause, an eternal, independent, 
necessary, infinite, personal Being whom we designate as 
God." 

" Pardon me for intruding," said a mansard-browed pas- 
senger with a Bostonian accent, " but being a member of the 
legal profession, I find your conversation deeply interesting. 
May I ask a question ? " 

" Certainly," replied Fr. Michaels, " a half dozen if you 
like." 

" Well," began the Bostonian, " I believe in God and that 
we are an expression of the Divine Mind, and — " 

" Oh," interrupted Fr. Michaels, " you believe in Panthe- 
ism, that tries to make everything in this world a part of God. 
According to you, man with all his vices is an emanation of 
the Deity — a modification of His Divine substance. Your be- 
lief is a bundle of contradictions, for it confounds Creator and 
creature, infinite and finite in one substantial unity." 

" Pardon," said the Bostonian, " but the confusion is in 
your belief which places boundaries to God's infinity by having 
Him create things outside of Himself." 

" Your difficulty," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " proceeds from a 
false supposition, viz. : that beings of one order can limit be- 
ings of a different order. As well might you claim that load- 
ing the memory with facts can limit the stomach's capacity for 
food. The limited and limiting must have some point of con- 
tact, some community of nature, else the one cannot act upon 
the other. The finite nature of creatures cannot limit the in- 
finite nature of the Creator." 

" I have often heard preachers emphasizing the universal 
belief of mankind in God," said the Bostonian, " but that ar- 
gument never impressed me." 

"Why not?" asked the priest. 

" Because," replied the Bostonian, " that universal belief 
does not exist. The Buddhists, the followers of Confucius 



Existence of God 59 

and the Shintoists are estimated at 480 millions. Brahminism, 
the prevailing religion of Hindustan, has about 120 million 
votaries who adore the supreme Brahma, which is nature." 

" Why, they must be co-religionists of yours," interjected 
Fr. Michaels. 

" Pardon," continued the Bostonian, " add to the afore- 
mentioned, 230 million natives of Africa and Oceanica who 
practice fetichism, the most revolting and degrading form of 
idolatry. Altogether you have 830 million pagans. Where 
is this much vaunted general belief in God's existence ? " 

" Well, my dear friend," replied Fr. Michaels, " it is one 
thing to believe in the existence of an object, and another thing 
to have a correct notion of its nature. Your objection con- 
founds the existence of God and His Divine nature. No intel- 
ligent Christian claims that mankind in general has a true 
knowledge of God's nature, but that men generally have be- 
lieved in His existence. The pagan adoring the sun or the 
moon or other created object, acknowledges a Deity in them. 
Pantheist like yourself, he confuses Creator and creature in 
one substantial unity. To have any weight your objection 
should prove that these 830 million pagans do not admit in any 
shape or form the existence of a deity. Atheists have always 
been anomalies like the blind among men. The general be- 
lief in God cannot be ascribed to the prejudices of early edu- 
cation, because such a theory confounds cause with effect. 
Lessons imparted to children are not the cause, but the con- 
sequence resulting from the general belief of mankind. Nor 
can it be attributed to fear. According to infidels, when man 
saw the vivid flash of lightning, when he heard the peal of 
thunder, or felt the shock of an earthquake, his fervid imagina- 
tion conjured up some invisible power he wished to propitiate. 
Marvelous indeed that people should retain their belief in 
God during the winter months the same as during April show- 
ers, and most of them never experienced the terrors of an 
earthquake. Finally this general belief cannot have been in- 
vented by legislators or priests. Not by the former, because 
all governments presuppose some sort of a religious credence ; 



60 Polemic Chat 

nor by the latter, for how could they present themselves as 
ministers of God, if there did not prevail among the people 
a strong conviction of His existence? As well might one as- 
sert that ambassadors founded the governments they represent, 
or that children invented the idea of parents. There is but 
one way to account for this general belief. God enlightens 
with the light of reason every man that cometh into this world. 
We recognize the Creator from the contemplation of His 
works. He is clearly seen, being understood by the things 
that are made." 



CHAPTER XII 

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY 

" How would you prove the Trinity from reason ? " asked 
the Bostonian. 

" To attempt such proof would be foolish," replied Fr. 
Michaels. "Of course, we need but open our eyes to be con- 
vinced of God's existence. The heavens publish His glory. 
The intelligent order throughout nature reveals the effect of 
His power, wisdom and providence. But the mystery of the 
Trinity transcends all human understanding." 

" Well," began Paxton, " when I went to Sunday School — " 

" Pardon," said the Bostonian, " I place little credence in 
what I cannot comprehend." 

" An infidel once made a similar remark in conversation at 
table to the famous Lacordaire," rejoined Fr. Michaels. 
" Passing him a dish of omelets from which he had taken 
more than his share, he sneeringly observed : ' I never be- 
lieve in what I cannot comprehend. That's reasonable, isn't 
it, M'sieur l'Abbe?'" 

" ' Kindly explain,' said Lacordaire, as he helped himself 
to the meager remnant on the plate, ' how heat which renders 
metal soft, has made these eggs so hard.' " 

: ' I can't,' retorted the infidel, somewhat confused. 

" ' Nor can I,' replied the Dominican. ' I notice that it 
doesn't lessen Monsieur's faith in omelets. Nature as well as 
religion abounds in mysteries which we believe without being 
able to understand. Even though the mystery of the Blessed 
Trinity surpasses our comprehension, we can easily show that 
it contains no absurdity.' " 

" Isn't it absurd to claim that three are one, and one three ? " 
asked the Bostonian. 

61 



62 Polemic Chat 

" That depends entirely upon the point of view," replied Fr. 
Michaels. " It would be absurd to say that there are three 
Gods and only one God, or that in God there are three Persons 
and only one Person. But there is no absurdity in asserting 
that God is one in essence or nature and three in personality. 
Can't a thing be one in one respect and threefold in other 
respects ? " 

" Why, of course," said Paxton, clearing his throat, " why 
I remember when I — " 

" Pardon me," interrupted the Bostonian, " but how can 
each of three Persons be God and yet have only one God? " 

"If I could explain the HOW," said Fr. Michaels, "it 
would no longer be a mystery. Why should poor man, unable 
to fix his gaze for even a moment on the noonday sun without 
being almost blinded, vainly try to penetrate the infinitely daz- 
zling nature of God? There is an endless variety of natural 
phenomena which we cannot comprehend, yet know to be 
facts. If we cannot solve the secrets of nature, why presume 
to fathom the mysteries of nature's God? " 

" But no mention of the Trinity is made in the Bible," per- 
sisted the Bostonian. 

" No one knoweth the Son but the Father," replied Fr. 
Michaels, quoting St. John, " neither doth anyone know the 
Father but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son 
to reveal. The word Trinity does not occur in the Bible; 
the doctrine, however, is not only foreshadowed in the Old 
Testament, but expressly declared in the New. Plurality of 
Divine Persons is implied in the words of Genesis : ' Let US 
make man to OUR image . . . Behold Adam has become 
as one of US.' And in Psalm ii, ' The Lord said to me : 
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee . . . The 
Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand.' Hypo- 
static or personal existence is frequently attributed by the 
prophets to the Word and Wisdom and to the Holy Spirit of 
God. The promised Messias called Emmanuel, the Great 
Counsellor, the Mighty God is really distinct from God the 
Father who sends Him into the world and implies plurality of 



The Most Holy Trinity 63 

Divine Persons. But what could be more explicit than the 
command of Christ to the Apostles : ' Going, therefore, teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of 
the Son and of the Holy Ghost ? ' In the name, i. e. in the 
authority, power and virtue which the three Divine Persons 
equally possess, mankind is to be regenerated in the sacra- 
mental waters of baptism. Here Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
are really distinguished from each other by the conjunction 
and, while the singular term — In the name — indicates that 
they have the same essence or nature. Those few words 
which we daily employ in making the sign of the cross the 
symbol of our redemption, refute the Arians, Socinians, Jews 
and Unitarians, in fact all modern as well as ancient unbe- 
lievers denying the unity of God in three distinct Persons." 

" Well, I know," exclaimed Paxton in a final desperate ef- 
fort to break into the conversation, " that when I used to 
attend Sunday School — " 

" Like most boys you stayed away oftener than you went, 
I fancy," interjected the Bostonian. 

" No Siree," hotly rejoined Paxton, " I was a regular at- 
tendant." 

" Well, what happened when you went to Sunday School ? " 
asked F. Michaels. 

" Why the priest," replied Paxton, " told us how St. Pat- 
rick explained the shamrock to the Irish by means of the 
Trinity." 

" That must have been rather interesting," remarked the 
Bostonian. " You, evidently, got the Sunday School lesson 
upside down." 

" What do you mean ? " asked Paxton with a scowl. 

" You meant that the priest illustrated the Trinity by means 
of the shamrock, and not vice versa," said Fr. Michaels, coming 
to the rescue. " All comparisons howsoever striking are nec- 
essarily imperfect when applied to the Blessed Trinity." 

" I don't understand," said the Bostonian, " how any anal- 
ogy can be discovered between material things and these in- 
comprehensible mysteries of religion." 



64 Polemic Chat 

" We have any number of analogies illustrating in a meas- 
ure the Blessed Trinity," replied Fr. Michaels. " They enable 
us to understand at least how the mystery contains no contra- 
diction. The sun gives light and heat. The sun, heat and 
light are really distinct, yet all three are of the same substance 
and began simultaneously. Man is one, yet threefold in his 
rational, animal and vegetative life. The human soul though 
essentially one is threefold in its powers of understanding, 
will and memory. A popular illustration with theologians is 
the following: Everyone begets a mental photograph or im- 
age of the object he wishes to understand. This image con- 
ceived by the human mind, is not self-subsisting, but accidental, 
transient and is called a mental word. Now God eternally 
knowing and comprehending His Divine Nature, begets an 
infinitely perfect image of His attributes. That perfect image 
is the Eternal Word, the only begotten Son of God. To Him 
St. John refers when he says : ' In the beginning was the 
Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' 
In God there can be nothing accidental or transient, since He 
is a Being infinitely perfect. Hence the Eternal Word is not 
accidental or transient like the mental word in creatures. He 
must be identified with the Divine Nature, yet distinct from 
the Father from Whom He proceeds. The Word has the 
same divine nature as the Father, yet being generated by the 
Father, He must be really distinct from Him who is Gener- 
ator. The Word then has all that is required for personality, 
viz. : an intellectual, individual subsistence. In the language 
of St. John, ' He is the splendor of His Father's glory and 
the figure of His substance.' God has not only infinite knowl- 
edge, but also infinite love. Beholding the perfect expression 
of His attributes in the Eternal Word, He loves Him and in 
return is beloved by Him. This eternal act of mutual love is 
not accidental like the act of love in creatures. Divine love is 
identified with God's own nature, yet really distinct from both 
Father and Son from whom it mutually proceeds. It is there- 
fore a distinct personal relation of the Blessed Trinity and 
called in Scripture the Holy Ghost or Spirit. To say then that 



The Most Holy Trinity 65 

in one God there are three Divine Persons is equivalent to 
asserting that God must be considered under a threefold 
respect: subjectively as God the Father knowing Himself; 
objectively as God the Son known by Himself and that is the 
Eternal Word or only begotten Son; finally, as a God loving 
Himself and beloved by Himself, viz.: the object of mutual 
love which is the Holy Ghost proceeding from both Father 
and Son as from one principle. These eternal, self-subsisting 
relations are what we Catholics regard as the three really dis- 
tinct Persons in one God. Without belief in this dogma the 
mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption are devoid of 
meaning. 



CHAPTER XIII 

DIVINITY OF CHRIST 

" I've heard that word Incarnation repeatedly," said the 
Bostonian, " but never knew exactly what it meant." 

" In the language of St. John," replied Fr. Michaels, " it 
means that the Word was made flesh." 

" That leaves me just as much in the dark as before," said 
the Bostonian. 

"I don't doubt it," rejoined Fr. Michaels. "The light 
shineth in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. 
What you need is a child's catechism. It would tell you that 
by Incarnation is meant that Jesus Christ the Son of God, the 
Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, was conceived and made 
man by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary." 

" I have always had the greatest regard for the teachings 
of Christ," said the Bostonian, " although I have my doubts 
about His miraculous birth or Incarnation as you call it." 

" And of course you do not believe that He was the Son 
of God," said Fr. Michaels. 

" No," replied the Bostonian, " I think all those wonderful 
circumstances of His birth and the miracles ascribed to Him 
originated in the minds of His enthusiastic followers. In this 
age of enlightenment miracles are the greatest hindrance to 
the acceptance of Christianity." 

" You differ radically from St. Paul, a much greater author- 
ity," replied Fr. Michaels. " He claims that the greatest ob- 
stacle to the gospel of Christ is pride of the understanding and 
pride of the heart. Pride of the understanding which prevents 
men from believing Gospel truths, pride of the heart which 
impedes them from observing Gospel precepts. Men embrace 

66 



Divinity of Christ 67 

Christianity to-day as in former times because it is authen- 
ticated by miracles furnishing it with irreproachable creden- 
tials and stamping it with the seal of divine approbation. The 
most of our knowledge is based upon testimony, that is, upon 
the confidence we place in the truthfulness of our fellowmen. 
We take historical facts for granted when confirmed by a mul- 
titude of disinterested witnesses who have nothing to gain, but 
everything to lose by deception. Such are the qualifications 
of the Apostles testifying to the occurrence of our Savior's 
miracles. The rejection of their testimony implies the repu- 
diation of all historical certainty. The Pharisees did not re- 
gard miracles as a hindrance to Christianity. ' What do we?' 
they exclaimed, ' for this man worketh many miracles. If 
we let Him alone so, all men will believe in Him.' ' : 

" For a miracle to occur," said the Bostonian, " the laws 
of nature would have to be set aside and that implies an im- 
possibility." 

" Yes, on the part of creatures," replied Fr. Michaels, " but 
not on the part of the Creator who made the laws. To 
deny the existence of miracles on the ground that they are 
impossible, is begging the question. It is like the argument 
advanced by the Siamese king when told by missionaries that 
in winter people of northern countries walked on ice or hard- 
ened water. He disdainfully rejected the assertion, ' because,' 
he said, ' everyone knows that it is impossible for water to 
get hard.' It is just as stupid for puny creatures to try to 
bind God's hands in His own creation and to limit His power." 

"But," insisted the Bostonian, " in order to decide what 
event is miraculous, one would have to possess a universal 
knowledge of the efficacy of the natural laws." 

" Not at all," replied Fr. Michaels. " We do not require 
universal knowledge to realize that no created power can, after 
the manner of Christ, restore sight to the blind, hearing to 
the deaf, appease the hunger of a multitude with a few loaves 
and fishes, or reanimate a corpse that has been decomposing 
for four days in the sepulchre. Our Savior wrought these 
miracles publicly and even in presence of His enemies." 



68 Polemic Chat 

" Well/' said the Bostonian, " we can accept the sublime 
teaching of Christ without the miracles. Scientific thought 
has given us a civilization material, intellectual, moral such as 
the world has never before seen. Must we abandon this tre- 
mendous instrument for the advancement of mankind because 
of a few legends told by only a few observers in an age of 
boundless credulity?" 

" My dear sir," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " you give scientific 
thought quite an amount of undeserved credit. To civilize 
means to reclaim from savage life and manners to a state of 
refinement and decency. Was it the scientists or the miracle 
believing apostles and their successors that civilized the Pagan 
world? " 

"Why Great Scott," broke in Paxton, " were it not for the 
Catholic Church, you, like your ancestors, might be still living 
in a cave and wearing a bearskin and instead of sailing on 
this leviathan steamship, might be paddling around to-day in a 
dugout near the shore." 

The Bostonian glared at him scornfully, but cowered imme- 
diately under the pugnacious gleam that lurked in Paxton's 
eye. 

" Restrain yourselves, gentlemen," pleaded Fr. Michaels. 
" We cannot accept the teachings of Christ," he continued, 
" without accepting His miracles and His Divinity. To them 
He appealed in proof of it. His divine origin was the prin- 
cipal theme of His teaching. ' Whom do men say that I am? ' 
He once asked the apostles. Simon Peter replied : - Thou art 
Christ, the Son of the living God.' Our Lord sanctioned that 
answer. ' Blessed art thou Simon Peter, for it is not flesh 
and blood which have revealed to thee who I am, but My 
Father in heaven/ As a reward for his faith, he added : ' Thou 
art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it/ 'There is no middle 
ground to stand upon. We must either unite with the Phari- 
sees in denouncing Him as a blasphemer or exclaim with 
Peter : ' Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.' Have 
you ever read the Messianic prophesies ? " 



Divinity of Christ 69 

" Never," replied the Bostonian. 

" Well, when you reach Chicago," said Fr. Michaels, " go 
to a Catholic bookstore and get ' Christ in Type and Prophecy,' 
by Fr. Maas. It will teach you how the history of the chosen 
people of Israel is little else than a series of prophetic events, 
typifying various incidents in the life of the Messias. You 
will learn how God revealed, through His prophets centuries 
beforehand, the minutest details of our Savior's birth, His 
public career, His ignominious passion and death, and His 
glorious resurrection." 

" But what assurance have you," asked the Bostonian, 
" that those prophecies are genuine ? " 

" If they were spurious," replied Fr. Michaels, " do you 
think that they would be retained by the Jews? Just to pre- 
clude objections of this kind it happened providentially that 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt about 250 years before 
Christ, ordered seventy of the most learned men of Israel to 
compile a Greek version of the Old Testament. Since before 
that period the prophets had long ceased to prophecy, it fol- 
lows that there is not a single Messianic prediction that is not 
contained in that famous Septuagint translation of the Bible." 

" How do you account then for the fact," said the Bos- 
tonian, " that most of the Jews repudiated Christ ? " 

" Their spiritual blindness and obduracy were the fulfill- 
ment of a prophecy," replied Fr. Michaels. " Their dispersion 
and social ostracism, the destruction of their temple and city 
were foretold as a divine chastisement for their crime of dei- 
cide. ' His blood,' they said, ' be upon us and upon our chil- 
dren.' " 

" Who knows," said the Bostonian, " but that Christ may 
have studied the prophecies attentively and then adapted His 
life in accordance with them ? " 

" Marvelous ! " exclaimed Fr. Michaels. " Don't you realize 
that such a prodigious undertaking would require the power 
of a God? What mortal could select his own mother? the 
precise time and place of his birth? the name to be given 
him eight days after his birth? What created being could 



fo Polemic Chat 

find a Judas who would betray him for exactly 30 pieces of 
silver? Who among men could so pre-arrange the gibes and 
insults of his executioners, the laceration of his hands and feet, 
the division of his garments, the time of his death .and resur- 
rection? Who but God incarnate could emerge from the por- 
tals of death, be acknowledged and adored as the Divine Re- 
deemer of mankind, not for a short interval nor merely in one 
locality, but for 19 centuries and throughout the civi- 
lized world? In Christ alone these wonderful events have 
been accurately accomplished according to their prediction. 
At the time of His crucifixion the eclipse of the sun, the 
earthquake, the rocks rent asunder, the dead arising and ap- 
pearing to many, in a word, the convulsion of the elements 
seemed to re-echo the conviction of the Roman centurion ex- 
claiming : ' Indeed this was the Son of God.' " 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE REDEMPTION 

" If Christ were really God," said the Bostonian, " why 
didn't He prevent all the humiliation and suffering heaped 
upon Him ? " 

" His enemies asked the same question at the time of His 
crucifixion," replied Fr. Michaels. " ' If thou be the Son of 
God,' they exclaimed, ' come down from the cross and we will 
believe in thee. He saved others ; himself he cannot save/ 
In fulfillment of the prophecies, He had to suffer before en- 
tering into His glory. The 21st and 68th psalms vividly de- 
scribe His passion and crucifixion. ' They dug my hands and 
feet. They numbered all my bones. . . . They parted my 
garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast 
lots. . . . All they that saw me, have laughed me to scorn. 
They have spoken with the lips and wagged the head. . . . 
They gave me gall for my food and in my thirst they gave me 
vinegar to drink.' I presume you have heard of the Redemp- 
tion of mankind? " 

" Oh, yes," replied the Bostonian, " it is what Protestants 
call the Atonement." 

" Precisely," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " although the term — 
redemption, strictly speaking, implies really more than atone- 
ment or satisfaction for sin. By redemption we Catholics 
understand the restoration of fallen man from the slavery of 
sin to the freedom of God's adopted children through the 
atonement and merits of Christ." 

" Don't the Modernists claim that the doctrine of Christ's 
atonement originated with Paul of Tarsus and is not found in 
the gospels ? " asked the Bostonian. 

71 



72 Polemic Chat 

" Yes," replied Fr. Michaels, " and their heresy was con- 
demned by Pius X in 1907. Although the best explanation 
of the doctrine is given by St. Paul, he did not originate it, 
because it is mentioned not only in the gospels, but also in the 
Old Testament." 

" I can't see any justice in punishing us for a sin com- 
mitted by another age before we were born," said the Bos- 
tonian. 

" Neither could I," replied the priest, " if the punishment 
consisted in depriving us of some faculty due our nature, as 
Luther maintained. According to him, original sin completely 
destroyed our free will. God certainly had the right to bestow 
His gifts on such conditions as He pleased and to make their 
conservation depend upon the fidelity of Adam, the head of 
the human race, just as an hereditary title might be conferred 
upon you and your children for generations to come, provided 
you observed a certain law. Through Adam's disobedience 
we share in his sin and punishment, as we should have shared 
in his happiness had he remained faithful. The punishment 
consists in the privation of supernatural gifts to which our 
nature has strictly no right, viz. : complete mastery over our 
passions, exemption from death, sanctifying grace and the 
beatific vision. Where is the injustice? Now God did not 
abandon man after his fall, but promised him 3; Redeemer in 
the person of His only begotten Son. He was to amply sat- 
isfy Divine Justice for the offense given and regain for us the 
right to heaven which we forfeited." 

" Well, to redeem, as I understand it," said the Bostonian, 
" means to ransom, to buy back. If through sin we became 
children of wrath, slaves of the devil, then the ransom should 
be paid to him holding dominion over us, viz. : to the devil." 

" Every comparison limps when carried to extremes or 
insisted upon too literally," rejoined the priest. " As a matter 
of fact the devil acquired no right over fallen man and was 
entitled to naught but punishment for having deceived him. 
The idea of paying Satan the purchase price of our redemp- 
tion is ridiculous as well as blasphemous. God alone was of- 



The Redemption 73 

fended by sin. Therefore to Him alone should reparation be 
made." 

" But," insisted the Bostonian, " couldn't God have forgiven 
the offense without exacting any reparation?" 

" Certainly," replied the priest, " but just now it is not a 
question of what God could have done, but what He actually 
did. He required complete atonement through the sacrifice 
of His only begotten Son." 

" Pardon me," said the Bostonian, " but His Son was God, 
was He not? Hence He made atonement to Himself. 
Doesn't that sound absurd ? " 

" Yes," replied the priest, " it must sound absurd, especially 
to anyone inclined to quibble, but not to a candid mind anx- 
iously seeking the truth. The county collector can pay and is- 
sue a receipt to himself for the taxes on his property. Do you 
notice any absurdity in the transaction because both payer and 
receiver happen to be one and the same person under different 
aspects? In our Lord's sacrifice all conditions necessary for 
an adequate satisfaction were fulfilled. He assumed, not the 
guilt, but the punishment of our iniquities. He made atone- 
ment to the Father and the Holy Ghost and to Himself consid- 
ered in His divinity as morally distinct from the same divine 
person as incarnate." 

"But why did He suffer such a frightful death?" asked 
the Bostonian. 

" To teach us the enormity of sin and show His infinite love 
for mankind," replied the priest. " No creature could repair 
the injury committed against the Creator. Did you ever hear 
the juridical axiom: 'Honor in honor ante, injuria in injuri- 
atof" 

" That's too deep for me," replied the Bostonian. 

" Excuse me," replied the priest, " I thought, that being a 
lawyer your legal lore extended beyond the examination of 
deeds and abstracts. The axiom means that honor is meas- 
ured by the dignity of the one conferring it, while injury is 
gauged by the dignity of the person injured. In other words, 
the more exalted the individual offended, the greater the of- 



74 Polemic Chat 

fense. An insult offered to the President would be certainly 
greater than if directed against a street urchin. On the other 
hand the more abject the condition of the person atoning, the 
less is the value of his atonement. Now the distance between 
the offended Creator and the offending creature renders the 
malice of the latter's offense in a measure infinite. Adequate 
satisfaction therefore could only be effected by a person of 
infinite dignity. Any atonement attempted by sinful man 
would be worthless, because it derives its intrinsic value from 
the dignity of the individual atoning. Atonement, moreover, 
implies some act of self-abasement or humiliation. Now 
Christ, as God according to His divine nature, could not un- 
dergo humiliation, for that would imply an imperfection in the 
God-head. Hence He united to His divine person a human 
nature in which He could suffer and atone as man. Although 
impeccable He should hold a sort of middle ground between 
innocence and guilt. He should be really just in order that 
His atonement might have value, and apparently a sinner in 
order to incur a sinner's punishment. Hence according to St. 
Paul, ' God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.' 
Christ had the appearance of sin without ever having incurred 
its guilt. It was of Him Isaiah said : ' The Lord hath laid on 
Him the iniquity of us all.' (liii-6.) Of Him the Apostle de- 
clared : ' He hath delivered Himself for us an oblation and a 
sacrifice unto God.'" (Eph. v-2.) 

"If He redeemed all men," said the Bostonian, " then no 
one can be lost." 

" Nobody cooperating with the graces gained through the 
Redemption can be lost," replied Fr. Michaels. " The most 
efficacious remedy would not help an invalid unless he made 
use of it. Likewise the fruits of Christ's redemption will not 
benefit us, unless applied to our souls through prayer and the 



CHAPTER XV 

THE BLESSED VIRGIN 

" Catholics believe in the divinity of the Virgin Mary, don't 
they ? " asked the Bostonian. 

" No," replied Fr. Michaels, " they regard as an article of 
faith that she is the Mother of God." 

" Well, that amounts practically to the same thing," re- 
torted the Bostonian. " How could she be the mother of God 
unless she were divine ? " 

" She need not be divine in order to become God's Mother, 
according to His human nature," rejoined Fr. Michaels. " The 
same divine Person Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is also her 
Son. Therefore, she is the Mother of God. The better we 
understand her part in the mystery of the Incarnation, the 
more enlightened we become in regard to our Savior Himself. 
In fact the dogma of the Incarnation is epitomized in the glo- 
rious name, ' Deipara,' viz. : Mother of God. Nestorious re- 
fused the Blessed Virgin that title, because he placed in Christ 
a dual personality, while our faith teaches that He is but one 
Person with two natures, the nature of God and the nature 
of man." 

"Well, I don't see," said the Bostonian, " how she can be 
rightfully called the Mother of God, if she did not give Him 
His divine nature." 

" How can any woman be rightfully called the mother of 
her son," asked Fr. Michaels, " if she does not give him his 
spiritual, immortal soul ? The terms mother and son are pred- 
icated of persons, and not of the elements composing them. 
We never say: ' the mother of our body,' although we are 
composed of a body derived from our mother's womb and of 
an immortal soul directly created by the Almighty. Now the 

75 



76 Polemic Chat 

Blessed Virgin conceived of the Holy Ghost and communi- 
cated to the Eternal Word, i. e., the Son of God, a true human 
nature of the same substance as her own. His human nature 
is not divested of personality. God incarnate did not blossom 
out into a human person. The person of Christ is not human, 
but divine. The Blessed Virgin is not the mother of a human 
son received into union with God, for that was the heresy of 
the Nestorians and Adoptionists. They claimed that the hu- 
man nature of Christ had a human personality. Of course hu- 
man nature cannot exist without being individualized, without 
a personality. The Second Person of the Trinity supplied 
our Lord's human nature with personality. That which was 
conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the 
Second Divine Person Who assumed or united- to Himself a 
human nature. Therefore she is really and truly the Mother 
of God, just as much as any woman is the mother of her son. 
' The Holy, which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son 
of God.' (Luke i, 35.) 

" I have noticed," said the Bostonian, " that you Catholics 
invariably speak of her as the Blessed Virgin." 

" Yes," replied the priest, " we take very great pleasure in 
honoring her whom God has signally honored by selecting her 
in preference to all other women, to become the Mother of 
His only begotten Son. Did you ever hear of the Mag- 
nificat?" 

" No, what is it ? " asked the Bostonian. 

" It is the canticle uttered by the Blessed Virgin when visited 
by her cousin, St. Elizabeth. You will find it in the first 
chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. In the Latin Vulgate it begins 
with the word, Magnificat. ' My soul doth magnify the Lord 
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Because He 
hath regarded the humility of His handmaid. For behold 
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.' For 
the accomplishment of this prophecy we need not look among 
the generations of Protestants. For in speaking of her they 
usually withhold the title of ' Blessed,' preferring to call her 
the Virgin or simply Mary. From the zeal manifested by 



The Blessed Virgin 77 

some sectarians in parading her alleged imperfections and ig- 
noring her exalted virtues, one might imagine that our Lord 
took keen delight in listening to the vilification of His Mother ! 
Evidently such traducers have no desire to be reckoned among 
the generations predicted to call her blessed. Perhaps they 
prefer to be counted among the generations of the fallen angel 
to whom God said in the garden of Eden : ' I will put enmi- 
ties between thee and the woman . . . she shall crush thy 
head.' " 

" Well, now," said the Bostonian, " let us have a little light 
on the subject. I want your candid opinion of a passage that 
I have marked in my Bible." They proceeded to the cabin, 
where the Bostonian produced a New Testament and began 
to read from St. Mark's : ' Is not this the carpenter, the 
son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and 
Simon? Are not also his sisters here with us? And they 
were scandalized in regard to him.' I guess," said the Bos- 
tonian, triumphantly, " that Mary or the Blessed Virgin, as 
you call her, was the mother of quite a large family." 

" You had better guess again," replied the priest, " for you 
certainly missed it the first time. Those so-called brothers 
and sisters of Jesus were not the offspring of the Blessed 
Virgin, but the children of a certain Cleophas by an altogether 
different Mary. The James mentioned in your text is called 
James of Alpheus (Matth. x, 3 ; Mark iii, 18), and the mother 
is called ' Mary the mother of James the less and Joseph. 
(Matth. xxvii, 56; Mark xv, 40). As Mary of Cleophas was 
the kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin, James and Joseph are 
called the brothers of Jesus, because the Jews had the custom 
of giving that title to cousins or near relatives. Lot was the 
nephew of Abraham, yet Abraham calls him brother. (Gen. 
xiii, 8.) Laban was both the uncle and father-in-law of 
Jacob, and yet Jacob calls him brother. (Gen. xxix, 15.) 
You might as well try to trace fraternal relationship between 
me and my congregation, for I usually address them as ' Be- 
loved Brethren.' Mary was a Virgin before our Savior's 
birth, because the Gospel says so. ' Behold a virgin shall con- 



78 Polemic Chat 

ceive and shall bring forth a son, and his name shall be called 
Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.' She is 
called a virgin in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds which were 
compiled long after her death. Hence the term, virgin, can- 
not be restricted to the time of our Lord's birth, but must in- 
clude her entire life." 

" Was not Christ called ' her first born son' ? " asked the 
Bostonian. 

" Yes," replied Fr. Michaels, " in conformity with the an- 
cient custom of thus designating the first born son of every 
Jewish mother, whether other children followed or not. Ma- 
chir is called the first born of Manasses, although he was his 
only son. (Josue, xvii-i.)" 

"But," insisted the Bostonian, "the gospel declares that 
' Joseph took unto him his wife and he knew her not till she 
brought forth her first born son.' Hence we must conclude 
that after the birth of her first born, she had other offspring." 

" We must not conclude anything of the sort," replied Fr. 
Michaels, " if we have any regard for logic." 

" How do you figure that out ? " demanded the Bostonian. 

" We cannot draw an affirmative conclusion from a neg- 
ative premise," rejoined the priest. " I am afraid that you 
are not very familiar with syllogistic architecture. The con- 
junction, till, does not imply that the chaste union between 
the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph ceased to exist after our 
Savior's birth. In the text : ' The Lord said unto my Lord : 
sit thou at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy foot- 
stool,' would you conclude that after the subjugation of his 
enemies, our Lord no longer sat at the right hand of God? 
In other words, our Savior, according to His sacred Human- 
ity, no longer occupied the highest place in heaven next to 
God?" 

" All true Christians," said the Bostonian, " regard Christ 
as the one mediator who gave himself a redemption for all." 

" Yes, He is the only mediator in the sense of Redeemer," 
replied Fr. Michaels. " But that does not prevent our asking 
the Blessed Virgin to pray for us. It was at her request that 



The Blessed Virgin 79 

our Lord performed his very first miracle at the marriage feast 
of Cana. Her intercession is based upon the merits of Christ 
Who gives it value." 

" But why bother with her intercession? " insisted the Bos- 
tonian. " God Himself can hear us. Why not pray directly 
to Him?" 

" Your difficulty proves too much," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" Therefore it proves nothing. Why should we pray even 
directly to God, since He knows our wants from all eternity? 
Because a devotion is not absolutely necessary, we cannot con- 
clude that it is useless. If it be wrong to seek the Blessed 
Virgin's intercession, then St. Paul made a great mistake in 
asking the Romans and Ephesians to pray for him; then we 
all are wrong in praying for each other, and the article : ' I 
believe in the communion of saints/ should be stricken from 
the Apostles' Creed. Our devotion to the Blessed Virgin does 
not derogate from the mediatorship of Christ, for the petitions 
addressed to her terminate with the formula, : ' Through Christ, 
our Lord.' Nor does it infringe upon the adoration due ex- 
clusively to God. In praying to her we join with the archan- 
gel Gabriel exclaiming : ' Hail full of grace, the Lord is with 
thee.' (Luke, i.) We imitate St. Elizabeth, the holy spouse 
of Zachary and mother of St. John the Baptist, and with her 
we say : ' Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the 
fruit of thy womb.' We unite our voices with the One, Holy, 
Catholic and Apostolic Church in the petition : * Holy Mary, 
Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of 
our death. Amen.' " 



CHAPTER XVI 

FALLACY OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 

The conversation proved too much for Paxton, who fell 
asleep in his chair. 

" Are you not a Christian Scientist?" asked Fr. Michaels 
of the Bostonian. 

"Yes," replied the latter. "How did you surmise it?" 

" From your pantheistic notion of God," rejoined the 
priest. " You asserted that we all are an expression of the 
Divine Mind. That is the typical Christian Science jargon." 

" But," protested the Bostonian, " you did not let me ex- 
plain. Christian Science has nothing in common with pan- 
theism, which places God in matter. Everything good is an 
expression of the Divine Mind." 

" And what about everything bad ? " asked the priest. 

" There is nothing really bad," replied the adherent of Ed- 
dyism. " Sin and sickness are simply delusions of mortal 
mind. They do not exist any more than darkness or the color 
black. Darkness is the absence of light, while black is the 
negation of all color." 

" Your explanation doesn't explain," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" Sickness and sin do not, of course, exist by themselves as 
distinct entities. Yet both are real modes of being. Do you 
regard the condition of a drunkard, leper, or murderer simply 
negative as to the absence of sobriety, health or virtue ? " 

" Christian Science regards these conditions as false con- 
cepts of mortal mind," rejoined the Bostonian. 

"Then," exclaimed the priest, "it is foolish for the civil 
authorities to order quarantine and other sanitary precautions 
against leprosy, cholera, yellow fever and the like which are 
purely imaginary. We might also abolish capital punishment 

80 



Fallacy of Christian Science 81 

and tear down the prisons. Why try to repress or punish 
crime which really doesn't exist outside of mortal mind? 
What do you mean by mortal mind ? " 

" Mortal mind," rejoined the Bostonian, rolling his optics 
piously towards the sky, " is the human mind rebelling against 
the Divine Mind. It is the ' carnal mind ' and the fruitful 
source of all sin and sickness. We believe in the eternal real- 
ity of one Divine Mind and the absolute nothingness of every- 
thing else. Oh, Brother ! " he continued in gushing tones, 
" could anything be more sublime ? You should read Mrs. 
Eddy's ' Science and Health,' and ' Key to the Scriptures' in 
order to appreciate the beauties of Christian Science." 

" Excuse me," said Fr. Michaels, " I am not a brother, but 
a priest. Let me recommend to your serious perusal the ar- 
raignment of Christian Science before the Bar of Reason by 
Fr. Lambert. I once made an heroic effort to read that book 
supposedly written by Mrs. Eddy. All that I could appreciate 
were its glaring inconsistencies. Anyone comparing the 
stilted, ungrammatical prefaces accredited to her with the pol- 
ished diction of the main part, will be convinced that she never 
wrote the book. Mark Twain claims that she had the com- 
mercial instinct abnormally developed when she demanded 
$300.00, payable in advance, for seven lessons in the art of 
healing. According to him, the three dollar edition of 
' Science and Health ' costs about 15 cents, while the six dollar 
de luxe edition averages 80 cents per copy. Seven hundred 
per cent, profit on these publications is quite a snug invest- 
ment." 

" The laborer is w T orthy of his hire," said the Bostonian. 
" You should respect Christian Science for at least the good 
it has accomplished." 

" The laborer," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " has no license to 
practice extortion. As to the alleged good accomplished by 
Christian Science, you would have quite a task proving it, 
since it only cures evils that do not exist. Besides, we are 
never allowed to do evil that good may result therefrom. Like 
Carrie Nation, Mrs. Eddy sallied forth, axe in hand, and did 



82 Polemic Chat 

not stop until she demolished every vestige of Christian faith 
— the Unity and Trinity of God, the Divinity of Christ with 
Whom she had the blasphemous effrontery to place herself on 
an equality ; fasting, prayer and the Decalogue which she re- 
duced to a sort of trialogue forbidding the use of tobacco, alco- 
hol, and other drugs. ' Who,' she says, ' can conceive either 
of three persons as one person, or of three infinities as one 
infinity ? ' Such an absurd conception is as far from the 
Catholic doctrine of the Trinity as heaven is from earth. 
' There is a dual personality in Christ/ she exclaims, ' the un- 
seen and the seen, the spiritual and the material, the Christ and 
Jesus.' Too bad that she didn't flourish in the fifth century. 
Nestorius would have adopted her as his own, even though 
she basted on a few flounces to' his heresy. 'Fasting/ she 
declares, ' is a senseless belief and Christ never fasted/ al- 
though the Gospel assures us that He fasted forty days in the 
desert. ' Prayer/ she claims, ' is unnecessary, as the All has 
already decreed what is good for us.' Her paraphrase of the 
Lord's Prayer beginning with : ' Our Father-Mother God, all 
harmonious/ is truly idiotic as well as Eddyistic. I cannot 
have respect for a cult that is a tissue of contradictions. It 
is neither Christian nor science. Not Christian, for it denies 
the fundamental truths of Christianity. Nor science, because 
science is a systematized body of knowledge whose various 
parts harmonize like the parts of a machine and admit of dem- 
onstration." 

" Christian Science," retorted the Bostonian, " demonstrates 
its worth by the countless cures it has effected. * By their 
fruits ye shall know them.' " 

" If all sickness is a delusion of mortal mind," asked Fr. Mi- 
chaels, " how can you cure what does not exist ? The chief 
fruits by which the followers of Christ may be known, are the 
fruits of charity. What charitable works have thus far dis- 
tinguished the Christian Scientists? Could you mention a 
single orphanage, asylum or refuge for the poor, the aged or 
the outcast, founded and supported by your marvelous cult? 
Do you know of any St. Vincent de Pauls or Father Damiens 



Fallacy of Christian Science 83 

among your followers? How does the charity of your much 
married foundress ' Mother Mary/ ' Pastor Emeritus ' and 
self-styled ' God's Little One ' compare with that of Mother 
Catherine Drexel who, instead of squandering her fortune in 
pomp and luxury, is devoting her life and earthly goods to 
the uplifting of the Indians and Negroes? What a contrast 
Mrs. Baker-Eddy forms with Nathaniel Hawthorne's daugh- 
ter, Sister Rose, who, although raised in culture and refine- 
ment, has consecrated her energy and talents to alleviating the 
sufferings of those afflicted with incurable cancer ! " 

" Works of charity," said the Bostonian, " arise mostly 
from sickness and sin. Christian Science abolishes the need 
for charity by removing its cause." 

" Oh, I see," said Fr. Michaels. " You remove the need 
by denying its existence! A very simple process. If a hungry 
man asks for food, you don't reach him a stone or a serpent, 
but something less substantial. His limp and empty stomach 
you inflate with a little Christian Science hot air. You per- 
suade him that he isn't hungry, but laboring under a delusion 
of mortal mind and send him on his way rejoicing." 

"Doesn't the Catholic Church believe in healing the sick 
by faith ? " asked the Bostonian. 

" Certainly," replied the priest, " for we read it in St. Mark, 
VI, 13, and XVI, 18, that ' they anointed with oil many that 
were sick and healed them/ . . . ' They shall lay their hands 
upon the sick and they shall recover.' The Roman Ritual has 
a special prayer for nearly every ache and pain afflicting the 
human race. Relying on the promises of Christ, we firmly 
believe in the efficacy of prayer. ' Ask and you shall receive.' 
' If you ask the Father anything in my name, He will give it 
you.' If we do not always obtain what we ask it is either be- 
cause our prayers lack faith, humility and perseverance, or be- 
cause God foresees that what we seek would be detrimental to 
our spiritual welfare. Following the injunction of St. James, 
we administer the sacrament of Extreme Unction, which 
through the anointing and prayer of the priest gives health 
and strength to the soul and even sometimes to the body when 



84 Polemic Chat 

we are in danger of death from sickness. No Catholic priest, 
however, counsels the patient, as you do, to avoid the natural 
means at his disposal. Natural remedies are not to be disre- 
garded when supernatural aid is invoked. God helps those 
who help themselves and He usually works His wonders 
through the established laws of nature. He doesn't want us 
to despise hygiene and medical science when we implore His 
assistance. By the way, how would Christian Science cure a 
case of smallpox or diphtheria ? Would the ' healer ' actually 
visit the patient? Wouldn't he rather demonstrate over him 
by telephone or give him what you call ' the absent treat- 
ment ?'" 

At this juncture Paxton awoke rather suddenly and rising 
to stretch himself poked his clenched fist into the Bostonian's 
face, causing that worthy gentleman to emit a yell of distress 
altogether incompatible with the tenets of Christian Science. 

" A thousand pardons," exclaimed Paxton. 

While struggling bravely to conquer the painful delusion of 
mortal mind the Bostonian asked : " If Christian Science be 
false, how do you account for its phenomenal success ? " 

" Our Lord accounted for it," replied Fr. Michaels, " when 
He said : ' There shall arise false Christs and false prophets 
and shall show great signs and wonders, in so much as to 
deceive (if possible) even the elect.' St. Paul also accounted 
for it in his second letter to Timothy, exhorting us to avoid 
those ' having the appearance, indeed, of godliness, but denying 
the power thereof. For of these sort are they who creep into 
houses, and lead captive, silly women laden with sins, who are 
led away with divers desires : Ever learning and never attain- 
ing to a knowledge of the truth.' " 



CHAPTER XVII 

CONFESSION 

" Hola ! Der Herr Professor ! " exclaimed Mr. Grebma, by 
way of greeting to Doctor Wolfgang, whose annual attack of 
hay-fever had driven him to the Island for a two weeks' so- 
journ. 

" I am so glad you came," said Mr. Grebma, shaking him 
warmly by the hand. " Shortly before leaving on his vacation 
Fr. Michaels imposed a convert for instruction on Mrs. 
Grebma, who claims that her pupil asks more questions in a 
minute than an ordinary Christian can answer in a month. 
Here they are now!" As he spoke, Mrs.' Grebma and Miss 
Seymour alighted from a carriage and proceeded leisurely up 
the walk. 

" Welcome to Mackinac," exclaimed Mrs. Grebma, pant- 
ingly, as she reached the veranda and fanned herself vigor- 
ously. Then scrutinizing the thermometer, she continued: 
" Mercy ! If it is 89 degrees here, what must the poor people 
have to endure in Chicago ! " After going through the for- 
malities of an introduction the party sat down. " Take this 
chair, Father," said Mrs. Grebma, " it is more comfortable. 
Miss Seymour was remarking as we came up the walk, that it 
must be dreadful to tell our sins to a priest. I replied that it 
wasn't any harder than taking calomel, quinine or cod liver 
oil." 

" Very true," commented Dr. Wolfgang. " Nobody is fond 
of medicine, and yet we all prefer the physician's visit to that 
of the undertaker. God doesn't want confession to be pleas- 
ant, otherwise relapsing into sin would become too easy. How 
delightfully simple it would be for the sinner to say under his 
breath: ' O Lord, I stole $100.00; I burned down my store in 

85 



86 Polemic Chat 

order to get the insurance ; I have ruined my neighbor's repu- 
tation; I am living in the proximate occasion of sin.' It be- 
comes more difficult when such a person is told by the con- 
fessor : ' Before you can receive absolution, you must restore 
the ill-gotten goods, repair the injury done, abandon the sinful 
occasion as far as it lies within your power.' " 

" Well, I don't see," declared Miss Seymour, " why we 
can't confess to God alone, since He alone has power to for- 
give sin." 

" Neither do I," replied Dr. Wolfgang, " unless it is be- 
cause God has ordained otherwise. Hawthorne in the Marble 
Faun puts your objection into the mouth of his Puritan hero- 
ine Hilda after she had disclosed her secret to the English con- 
fessor in St. Peter's Basilica. The scribes made the same 
objection to our Lord: 'This man blasphemeth. Who can 
forgive sins but God only ? ' And yet is there anything to pre- 
vent God from delegating His power? He delegated men to 
promulgate His law. Why should He not authorize men to 
absolve us when we break it? Governments negotiate with 
each other through their ambassadors and God pursues a like 
method. In the present order of Providence we can find no 
other means of pardon outside of sacramental confession when 
the latter is available." 

" Why," exclaimed Miss Seymour, " I was taught to regard 
confession as an invention of priestcraft for the purpose of 
keeping the people in ignorance and superstition." 

" Strange," said Dr. Wolfgang, " that the cunning priests 
didn't exempt themselves from the onerous duty of confess- 
ing their sins. Did your teacher inform you of the precise 
epoch in which the celebrated invention occurred ? " 

" I think that it was in the XIII century," replied Miss 
Seymour. 

" The IV Lateran Council held in the XIII century did not 
invent confession," said the doctor, " but presupposing its ex- 
istence, specified when the faithful should confess their sins. 
As well might the County Collector be accused of having in- 
vented taxes when he notifies us that they should be paid on 



Confession 87 

or before May 1st. It may surprise you to learn that confes- 
sion was not only foreshadowed but even divinely commanded 
centuries before Christ raised it to the dignity of a sacrament. 
Under the Mosaic Law the Jews were bound both to confess 
their sins and to offer atonement sacrifices according to 'the 
measure and estimation of the sins. How could the Jewish 
priests proportion the victims to the number and quality of 
the offenses, unless the people were obliged to confess their 
sins in particular ? 

" Our Lord, having made St. Peter visible head of His 
Church, said to him : ' I give to thee the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be 
bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth 
shall be loosed in heaven.' This implies the power of loosing 
and binding the spiritual bonds of sin. The same power was 
afterward conferred upon the other Apostles. ' Breathing 
upon them, He said : ' Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins 
you shall forgive they are forgiven them, whose sins you shall 
retain they are retained.' He made the Apostles judges of 
human souls on earth, so that absolution granted or denied 
by them is a true sentence ratified by Him in heaven. If we 
could obtain pardon independently of the tribunal established 
by Christ, it would become nugatory and useless just the same 
as our criminal court if law-breakers were not subject to its 
jurisdiction." 

" How do you prove," asked Miss Seymour, " that priests 
to-day have power to forgive sins ? " 

"Every institution of Christ destined for the general wel- 
fare of the Church," replied the doctor, " must remain in full 
force and vigor as long as the Church lasts. When our Lord 
said to the Apostles : ' Going therefore teach all nations . . . 
baptizing them,' etc., He certainly did not restrict the power 
of preaching and baptizing to the Apostles alone. He meant 
that those prerogatives should be exercised by their successors 
until the end of time. Hence by a just parity of reasoning 
the words : ' Whose sins you shall forgive,' etc., must extend 
to their legitimate successors in the apostolic ministry, viz. : to 



88 Polemic Chat 

the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church. They exercise 
this power by hearing the confession of sins and by forgiving 
them, not as private individuals, but as ministers of God and 
in His name." 

" It must be very humiliating to tell every little secret fault 
to the priest," remarked Miss Seymour. 

" Why," rejoined the doctor, " we needn't tell the little ones. 
It is only the big ones, the mortal sins that we are bound to 
confess. If we deliberately conceal a mortal sin, our confes- 
sion is thereby rendered worthless and sacrilegious. In that 
case not only must we declare the sin concealed, but repeat 
all the grievous ones committed since our last worthy con- 
fession. It would be like a mistake made in fastening our 
clothes or shoes. It doesn't suffice to undo one button. We 
have to unbutton them all and start over again properly from 
the beginning. Of course, it is humiliating, but that is one of 
the essential features of a worthy confession. We must accuse 
ourselves with a deep sense of shame and sorrow, truthfully 
and honestly, without excuse or exaggeration, at the same time 
indicating to the best of our memory the number and kinds 
of our mortal sins and the circumstances changing their na- 
ture." 

" Why should one go into so much detail ? " asked Miss 
Seymour. 

" Because," said the doctor, " the confessor is our judge 
and spiritual guide. What kind of a sentence could he pro- 
nounce without hearing the evidence or merits of the case? 
Do you think that a patient would convalesce, were the phy- 
sician to prescribe for him without diagnosing his malady be- 
forehand? If the penitent does not confess all the mortal sins 
of which he is conscious according to their number and kind, 
the confessor cannot prudently judge whether to grant or deny 
absolution ; he cannot impose a penance proportioned to the 
offenses ; nor can he prescribe suitable remedies enabling the 
unfortunate sinner to rise from spiritual death to the life of 
grace." 



Confession 89 

" But don't you think," asked Miss Seymour, " that God will 
forgive any sinner who reforms ? " 

" It all depends upon what you understand by reformation," 
replied the doctor. " An humble and contrite heart God will 
never despise. Three acts are required on the part of the 
sinner that he may be forgiven : contrition, confession and 
satisfaction. He must conceive an inward, supernatural and 
sovereign hatred of all his mortal sins, and a true grief of 
the soul for having offended God with a firm resolution to 
sin no more. He must confess all his mortal sins humbly and 
sincerely to a duly authorized priest. Finally he must be dis- 
posed to perform the penance enjoined by the priest." 

" All aboard for the golf links ! " shouted Mr. Grebma, from 
the rear porch. 

" I am with you," responded Dr. Wolfgang, rising. " Will 
you kindly excuse me ? " he added, turning to Miss Seymour. 

" Oh, certainly," replied the latter. 

" If you call here to-morrow morning at nine o'clock," said 
the clergyman, " I will be glad to resume the instruction." 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE HOLY EUCHARIST 

" Is there much difference between the Episcopalian and the 
Catholic Church ? " asked Miss Seymour the next morning. 

" All the difference in the world," replied Dr. Wolfgang. 
" The Episcopalian Church was founded by Henry VIII be- 
cause Clement VII refused him a divorce from his lawful wife. 
The Catholic Church was established by Jesus Christ and has 
continued uninterruptedly down to the present day. The 
English Episcopalians recognize the reigning sovereign King 
George as their spiritual head. Catholics throughout Christen- 
dom regard the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius X, as the visible head 
of the Church and the Vicar of Christ upon earth." 

" Well, the Episcopalians have the communion service just 
the same as Catholics," said Miss Seymour. 

" Oh, no, they haven't," responded Dr. Wolfgang. " They 
have merely the shadow without the substance, the empty 
figure without the reality. In the days of Elizabeth they 
claimed that the Eucharist contained really and truly bread 
and really and truly the body of Christ." 

"Isn't that what Catholics believe?" asked Miss Seymour. 

" Catholics," replied the priest, " do not believe that a thing 
can both be and not be at the same time and under the same 
respect. Ours is a rational faith. If the Holy Eucharist is 
really bread, it cannot be the body of Christ. And if it is the 
body of Christ, it cannot be really bread. When the Anglicans 
finally awoke to the glaring absurdity of their doctrine, they 
took refuge in the figurative sense of Calvin, viz: this bread 
is a figure, a symbol; it represents my body. Just as when 
our Lord compared Himself figuratively to a vine, a door, a 
rock or a lamb." 

90 



The Holy Eucharist 91 

" Well, that sounds more plausible," commented Miss Sey- 
mour. 

" But it isn't more plausible," rejoined the priest. " Just 
because some Scriptural phrases are evidently metaphors, it 
doesn't follow that all Biblical expressions must be interpreted 
figuratively. What would become then of the Blessed Trinity, 
the Incarnation, the Redemption, Original Fall, Eternal Re- 
ward and chastisement? Why not consign these and other 
doctrines to the limbo of tropes and figures? Whenever our 
Lord employed figurative expressions He invariably showed 
from the drift of His conversation that they were figures. 
When He said: ' I am the vine, the door,' etc., the subject is 
the personal pronoun I which remains invariable and excludes 
all change in the Person of Christ. Hence those expressions 
are figurative, according to the common rules of speech. ' I 
am the living bread that came down from heaven,' is also a 
metaphor, and had our Lord said no more our Protestant 
friends might have had a little shading of grammar on their 
side. In speaking of the Holy Eucharist, He did not content 
Himself with saying : ' I am the living bread.' At the Last 
Supper, taking bread into His hands, He said : ' This is my 
body.' Lest we might dream of tropes or figures, He added : 
' My body which shall be delivered for you.' Taking the chal- 
ice of wine, He said : ' Drink ye all of this. This is My blood 
which shall be shed for the remission of sins.' In the Syro- 
Chaldaic, Greek and Latin Text the subject is not the personal 
pronoun I which in the objected phrases would imply a meta- 
phor. No, the subject is the demonstrative pronoun THIS 
without any other adjunct. The Latin Vulgate reads: Hoc 
est Corpus meum. Hoc viz. This, in the neuter gender refer- 
ring to Corpus Body which is also neuter. It cannot refer to 
panis, viz : bread which is masculine. ' Unless you eat the 
flesh of Man and drink His blood,' said our Lord, ' you shall 
have no life in you.' " 

" I was always taught," said Miss Seymour, " that our Lord 
wished us to eat His flesh by faith. That was simply a figure 
of speech." 



92 Polemic Chat 

" His hearers didn't understand it as a figure," said the 
priest. " They took His words literally. In fact they dis- 
puted among themselves saying : ' How can this man give us 
his flesh to eat ? ' Many of the disciples exclaimed : i This 
is a hard saying, who can hear it ? ' What difficulty would they 
have to believe, if He merely wished them to eat a piece of 
bread to His memory ? Do you know what the expression — 
' to eat the flesh of another,' means when taken figuratively? " 

" I do not," replied Miss Seymour. 

" Well, in all oriental languages as well as in plain Anglo- 
Saxon," replied the priest, " it means to abuse, to calumniate, 
to backbite. Don't we say in English of an enemy : He nearly 
ate me alive; he almost devoured me? Hence the figurative 
sense of our Lord's words would be: Unless you abuse and 
calumniate the Son of Man, etc., an evident absurdity." 

" I never knew exactly," said Miss Seymour, " what Cath- 
olics believe regarding the Holy Eucharist." 

" They believe," said Dr. Wolfgang, " that in the Holy 
Eucharist not only is our Lord Jesus Christ really present, 
but also that the substance of the bread is changed into His 
body and the substance of the wine is changed into His blood 
while all the appearances of the bread and wine remain un- 
changed. That is what we understand by the term — trans- 
substantiation. At the Last Supper our Lord said : ' This 
is my body. This is my blood.' Those words in their plain 
and obvious meaning imply a change of substance. If that 
which our Saviour held in His hands was really His body, then 
it must have ceased to be substantially bread." 

" How can it be the body of the Saviour, if all the appear- 
ances of bread remain ? " asked Miss Seymour. 

" That's the same old HOW of the incredulous Jews and 
disciples of little faith," replied Dr. Wolfgang. ' They dis- 
puted among themselves, saying: How can this man give us 
his flesh to eat?' Before seeking to understand how the 
Eucharistic bread and wine are changed into our Lord's Body 
and Blood, explain how He changed the water into wine at the 
marriage feast of Cana. How is the water of the raindrop 



The Holy Eucharist 93 

changed every season into the wine of the grape? How is the 
food we daily consume changed into our flesh and blood? " 

" But Father," insisted Miss Seymour, " in the natural phe- 
nomena quoted, not only the substance but also the appearances 
are completely changed, while in the Holy Eucharist the ap- 
pearance of bread and wine remain." 

" Very true," replied the priest, " I cited those examples 
as imperfectly illustrating the substantial change that occurs in 
the Holy Eucharist. But in petrification do not the appear- 
ances of wood, the shape, color, quantity, etc., remain invari- 
able, though the wood itself is substantially changed into a 
mineral, a piece of stone?" 

" But our Lord is one person," said Miss Seymour, " yet 
you claim that He is daily received by thousands or even mil- 
lions of communicants." 

" I presume," said Dr. Wolfgang, " that like most ladies, you 
rarely pass a looking glass without taking a furtive glance at 
your hat to see whether it is on straight ? " 

Miss Seymour nodded affirmatively. 

" Well," continued the priest, " how is it that your reflec- 
tion in the mirror would be multiplied as many times as the 
fragments into which the mirror might be broken? How do 
a thousand persons in the church receive whole and entire each 
word that falls from the lips of the preacher? If our Lord 
could miraculously multiply five loaves and two fishes so as to 
appease the hunger of a multitude in the desert, what is there 
to prevent Him from miraculously multiplying His sacred 
presence so as to give Himself as spiritual food for our souls 
in Holy Communion? Infidels think it absurd that our Lord, 
a full grown man, can be present in the small space of a conse- 
crated host. Yet they cannot explain how a broad landscape 
stretching for miles along the horizon can be so accurately 
reflected in the tiny retina of the eye." 

" But, Father," protested Miss Seymour, " surely we are 
permitted to believe our eyes." 

" Certainly, and also your ears," rejoined the priest. " In 
fact you can attach belief to all your senses. What do your 



94 Polemic Chat 

senses perceive in the Holy Eucharist? The sensible qualities 
of bread, viz. : its shape, taste, color and quantity. All those 
sensible qualities are so necessarily present, that when they 
disappear, the Body and Blood of Christ disappear along with 
them. In seeking truth we cannot depend upon the testimony 
of one organ of sense alone. The gift of sight after all con- 
veys to us merely the appearance of things. You behold a 
person in the street and you take him for an old acquaintance. 
You run up and accost him. But no sooner does he speak than 
you discover your mistake. Did your eyes deceive you? 
No, they performed their office with integrity. They rep- 
resented what certainly appeared like an old acquaintance and 
the wrong conclusion was in your judgment. Reason and 
experience testify that if we wish to know the true nature of 
objects, then in their investigation we must employ all our 
senses. In the example of the person whom we mistook for 
an old friend, the error was rectified by our sense of hearing. 
No sooner did we hear his voice, than we realized that he was 
a stranger. Let us do the same with the Blessed Sacrament. 
Our sight, taste, etc. represent it as bread. But what about 
our sense of hearing? Do we not hear the infallible voice 
of Jesus Christ exclaiming : ' This is My body ; this is My 
blood ' ? Our hearing, therefore, conveys to us His Divine 
Word and prevents the wrong conclusion into which we would 
certainly fall, if we hearkened to the testimony of our other 
senses." 



CHAPTER XIX 

SYMBOLISM OF VESTMENTS AND CEREMONIES 

" Have you ever assisted at Mass ? " enquired Dr. Wolfgang 
of Miss Seymour, when she came for her usual morning in- 
struction. 

" Yes, indeed," she replied, " and I thought it very im- 
pressive." 

" I hope that I am not intruding," said Mrs. Grebma, as 
she approached with some needlework in her hand, and sat 
down upon the veranda. 

" Not at all, Madame," replied the priest. , " The more, the 
merrier ; the larger the audience, the better I like it. Do you 
wish to hear about the color and symbolism of the vestments 
worn by the priest when he says Mass ? " 

" Oh, yes," she answered, " kindly explain why different col- 
ors are used." 

" Every woman," said the priest, " is or ought to be anxious 
to appear well gowned before her husband and friends. The 
Church being the Spouse of our Lord, likes to appear before 
Him in dress of pleasing and mysterious variety. Although 
her essential glory and beauty are from within, she gives them 
outward expression through the variously colored vestments 
employed in her ceremonies. White, a symbol of purity and 
sanctity, is used on feasts of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, the 
Angels, Pontiffs, Confessors and Virgins. Red, suggesting 
the idea of blood and fire, is employed to celebrate the festivals 
of martyrs. Since it is the work of the Holy Ghost to en- 
lighten our minds and inflame our hearts, and as He descended 
upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, the color red is 
used also upon His festivals. Violet, a color partly dark and 
partly bright, recalls both the labors and advantages of morti- 

95 



g6 Polemic Chat 

fication. Hence it is employed in the penitential seasons of 
Advent and Lent. Black, a symbol of mourning, is used on 
Good Friday and in Masses for the dead. Green, signifying 
hope, is employed on all ordinary Sundays and weekdays 
when no special feast occurs. Everything connected with the 
Mass suggests in some way the divine tragedy enacted on Mt. 
Calvary." 

" What special meaning is attached to the vestments ? " 
asked Miss Seymour. 

" The first garment the priest puts on," said the doctor, 
" is the amice which means to cover. It is a square white cloth 
fastened with two strings crossing each other on his breast. 
It symbolizes the veil with which our Savior was blindfolded 
when the rabble struck him saying: ' Prophesy to us O Christ 
who it was that struck thee.' It also typifies a warrior's hel- 
met reminding the priest that he is a soldier of Jesus Christ. 
Putting it on he says : ' Place on my head, O Lord, the helmet 
of salvation that I may withstand the attacks of the devil.' 
The alb or long white linen robe recalls how our Savior was 
clothed in derision by Herod. Its whiteness implies the great 
purity which the priest should bring to the celebration of Mass. 
Donning it he says : ' Cleanse me, O Lord, and purify my heart, 
that having been made white in the blood of the lamb I may 
reap eternal joys.' Not only Christian but also Jewish and 
Pagan priests have always employed linen tunics in their cere- 
monies. The Jewish high-priest was clothed with it for sac- 
rifice. The pagans were similarly vested when immolating 
victims to their deities. The idea was stolen from the Mosaic 
ceremonial. Man, it seems, was always conscious of his fall. 
He knew that vestments made from the coverings of animals 
were not pure enough. So he laid them aside and donned 
linen when engaged in religious functions. The cincture re- 
calls how our Lord was bound with cords in the Garden of 
Olives, when scourged at the pillar, and finally when ascending 
Calvary. The cincture holds up the alb which might incon- 
venience the priest in walking. It warns him that his virtue 
should be strong and energetic, that in order to. ascend 



Symbolism of Vestments and Ceremonies 97 

the altar and drink the blood of the Immaculate Lamb he 
should renounce all worldliness. Hence in girding himself he 
says : ' Encircle me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity and ex- 
tinguish within me all tendency to sensuality, so that I may 
preserve intact the fairest of virtues/ The maniple was 
formerly a kind of handkerchief used to wipe away tears and 
perspiration. It recalls that we must earn the bread of im- 
mortality by the sweat of our brow and that our Lord will 
wipe away all tears and misery when we appear before His tri- 
bunal to receive our recompense. Placing it upon his left arm 
the priest says : ' May I deserve, O Lord, to carry the maniple 
of grief and pain that I may receive in joy the reward of la- 
bor/ The stole placed around the priest's neck and extending 
to his knees is a symbol of dignity and authority. He wears 
it whenever administering a sacrament. It also typifies im- 
mortality, the right to which we lost through the sin of Adam. 
Putting on the stole the priest says : ' Restore to me, O Lord, 
the robe of immortality which I lost by the sin of my first 
parent, and though unworthy I approach thy sacred mysteries, 
grant that I may attain eternal happiness/ The chasuble, the 
last vestment, was formerly a very large round cloak without 
any openings in the sides. The Greek Church still preserves 
it in its original form. During the last few centuries the Latin 
Church has gradually removed from it whatever interfered 
with the freedom of the arms. In its ancient shape it was 
lifted up whenever the priest had to use incense or elevate the 
sacred Host or Chalice. Notwithstanding its present shape the 
custom of holding up the chasuble on these occasions is still 
retained as a memorial of by-gone days. It symbolizes the 
yoke of our Lord which priest and people should daily carry. 
This yoke is the observance of His law. Putting on the chas- 
uble the priest says : ' O Lord, Who has declared : My yoke is 
sweet and my burden light, grant that I may carry it in such 
a manner as to obtain Thy grace/ A large cross is drawn on 
the chasuble that we may have continually before our eyes 
the obligation to carry the cross after our Savior, and may re- 
member that this symbol of our redemption is our only hope, 



98 Polemic Chat 

that the altar is a true Calvary where the sacrifice of the cross 
is renewed and perpetuated.' " 

" I heard," said Miss Seymour, " that every movement of 
the priest at the altar has a special significance." 

" It has," replied Dr. Wolfgang. " The celebrant proceed- 
ing with the acolytes to the sanctuary represents our Lord go- 
ing with His disciples to the Garden of Olives. The profound 
inclination made during the Confiteor recalls the Savior's 
agony when He fell prostrate to the ground. The priest kiss- 
ing the altar reminds us of how our Lord was betrayed by 
Judas into the hands of His enemies. When from the middle 
of the altar he goes to the Epistle side and from the Epistle 
returning to the center to pass over to the Gospel side and back 
again to the center, he represents Jesus led first to Annas 
and Caiphas who judged Him guilty of death; then brought 
before Pilate who declared Him innocent, and from Pilate 
to Herod who clothed Him as a mock king and sent Him 
back to Pilate's tribunal where He was condemned to be 
crucified." 

" During these ceremonies," asked Mrs. Grebma, " should 
we not meditate upon our Savior's passion ? " 

" Certainly," rejoined the priest, " since the Mass is a memo- 
rial of His passion. The Gospel and Credo remind us that 
we must stand up for our faith and courageously profess it 
whenever duty requires. The removal of the veil from the 
chalice suggests how our Lord was stripped of His garments 
when scourged at the pillar. The oblation of the host and 
chalice recalls how our Savior offered the chalice of His bitter 
Passion to His heavenly Father for the sins of the world. 
The priest washing his hands at the Lavabo reminds us how 
Pilate did likewise before the people saying : ' I am innocent 
of the blood of the just man.' The Orate Fratres or Pray 
Brethren recalls the admonition of our Lord to the slumbering 
Apostles : ' Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation.' 
The consecration, the most solemn part of the Mass, vividly 
recalls the scene of the Last Supper when our Lord changed 
the bread and wine into His adorable Body and Blood, and 



Symbolism of Vestments and Ceremonies 99 

empowered His Apostles and their successors, the bishops and 
priests, to do the same, exclaiming : ' This do ye for a com- 
memoration of me.' The elevation of the consecrated Host 
and Chalice reminds us how our Divine Redeemer was raised 
upon the cross for the salvation of mankind. The priest con- 
tinues to pray, and our Lord while hanging from that infamous 
gibbet continued to intercede for His executioners, exclaiming : 
' Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' The 
division of the Host typifies the death of our Savior, who ex- 
pired, saying : ' Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.* 
A particle of the divided Host is let fall into the chalice to 
symbolize the soul of Christ descending into Limbo. At the 
Agnus Dei the priest strikes his breast, thus recalling how 
many of those witnessing our Savior's death struck their 
breasts, exclaiming : ' Indeed this was the Son of God.' Com- 
municating the priest buries as it were in his heart the Body 
and Blood of Christ. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and 
others placed the lifeless Body of our Lord in the sepulchre. 
Towards the end of the sacrifice the priest, turning toward the 
congregation, says : ' Dominus Vobiscum — The Lord be with 
you.' It is our risen Savior announcing peace to His Apostles 
in the cenacle. Finally he blesses the people and leaves the 
altar, like our divine Redeemer blessing the Apostles before 
His ascension into heaven." 



CHAPTER XX 

CREMATION 

After running the gauntlet of porters, cabmen and idlers 
who swarmed about the dock, Fr., Michaels managed to wedge 
his way through the dense crowd and cross the Rush Street 
bridge. Unused to the confusion and bustle of city life, more 
than once he narrowly averted being run down by passing ve- 
hicles. Tightly gripping his suitcase, he proceeded west at a 
lively gait on River Street, to Wabash Avenue, where he came 
in sight of the Loop. Scurrying across the street he collided 
with a cross-eyed man, who angrily demanded why he didn't 
look where he was going. " And why don't you go where you 
are looking? " retorted the priest, as soon as he had recovered 
his breath from the impact. He finally reached the Elevated 
Station and boarded a Metropolitan train that brought him to 
within a few minutes' walk of the house of Fr. Nathan, a 
former classmate. The greeting was most cordial and Fr. 
Nathan did all in his power to render the sojourn of his guest 
agreeable. The daytime was spent in sightseeing, visiting the 
parks, churches, and public buildings. 

" One thing you must see before leaving town," said Fr. 
Nathan. 

"What is it?" asked Fr. Michaels. 

" The Marquette Building," replied Fr. Nathan. " The re- 
lief work in the rotunda is really artistic. It is a mosaic 
sketch of Fr. Marquette's life and labors 'among the Indians." 

" Well, I have had enough for one day," said Fr. Michaels, 
yawning. " We can take it in to-morrow." That night he 
was awakened by a furious ringing of the front door bell. A 
few minutes later Fr. Nathan knocked at his door. 






Cremation 



101 



" I am very sorry to disturb you," he said, " but I left my 
ritual and oil-stock in your room." 

" What's the matter, a sick call ? " asked Fr. Michaels. 

" Yes, and a very urgent one," replied the pastor. " Some 
unfortunate cut up by the cars." Whereupon he hurried down 
stairs and left the house. Fr. Michaels said a decade of his 
beads for the poor victim and was soon fast asleep. 

"Did you reach him in time?" he asked of Fr. Nathan at 
the breakfast table the next morning. 

" Oh, yes," replied the latter. " A couple of brakemen came 
after me and I rode back with them on a switch engine. I 
had to bring along a candle and a bottle of holy water, as they 
never have anything prepared in that hospital. The surgeon 
was very deferential. He and the nurse withdrew while I was 
hearing the poor fellow's confession. I dared not give him the 
Viaticum as he could retain nothing. He only lived a couple 
of hours and was conscious up to the moment of his death. 
Although mashed across the abdomen he never uttered a moan 
or whimper. He was stretched on the operating table when 
I entered and he recognized me immediately. ' I got mine all 
right, Father,' he said. ' I had it coming to me.' Here is an 
account of it in the paper." 

Fr. Michaels took up the paper and read: 



VICTIM OF RAILROAD CROSSING 
" George Paxton, a traveling salesman, 
aged 30, while crossing the C. M. & St. 
P. R. R. tracks, stepped out of the way 
of the Limited directly in the path of a 
train of Pullman cars that were being 
switched on a siding. Several of the 
cars passed over his body before the 
accident was discovered. He was taken 
to the Emergency Hospital where his 
case was pronounced hopeless." 



Fr. Michaels was stunned. " The Lord have mercy on his 
soul," he exclaimed. " Paxton was on the boat with me." 



102 Polemic Chat 

He then briefly related the circumstances of their first meet- 
ing. 

" He and his mother," said Fr. Nathan, " have lived in the 
parish a long time. She always practiced her religion, but 
he was rather wild and careless. I expect to have trouble over 
the funeral. She will want him buried in Rose Hill alongside 
of his father, who wasn't much of anything from a religious 
standpoint. He desired to be cremated, but she would not 
consent to that." 

" His burning desire may have been gratified when he 
reached the other side," commented Fr. Michaels. " To con- 
sign the remains of a cherished relative or friend to the de- 
vouring flames of a crematory recalls vividly to mind the 
infernal abode of the reprobate who on the last day shall hear 
that awful sentence : ' Depart from me ye cursed into ever- 
lasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' The Church 
has always shown the greatest respect for the mortal remains 
of her children, at the same time avoiding the excesses of pa- 
ganism. That is why she abolished the barbarous custom 
of burning the dead." 

" I don't see any opposition to Catholic doctrine in the prac- 
tice of cremation," remarked Fr. Nathan. " It prevents cor- 
ruption of the soil, contamination of the air and drinking 
water, and is really a safeguard against infection in time of 
cholera and yellow fever." 

" You are evidently trying to start an argument," responded 
Fr. Michaels smiling. " In every well regulated cemetery the 
coffins are placed at least five or six feet below the surface. 
Decomposition of their contents is too far removed from corn 
and wheat fields, rivers and fountains, to cause either corrup- 
tion of the soil or contamination of the drinking water. You 
know as well as I that the practice of cremating bodies ob- 
tained official recognition in Europe through Masonic influence. 
It is in full accord with the maxims of atheism, the chief aim 
of which is to banish God from the birth, nuptials, and death 
of mankind. All nations, even the most barbarous, guided by 
the light of natural reason, have understood that the Divinity 



Cremation 103 

should intervene in these three solemn events of human life. 
Christians invite God to be present at the birth of their off- 
spring in order to regenerate them in the salutary waters of 
baptism, make them His adopted children and heirs to the 
kingdom of heaven ; they ask Him to preside at their nuptials, 
because the married couple has special need of divine assist- 
ance to persevere in conjugal fidelity and to educate their chil- 
dren in a Christian manner, that they may eventually become 
useful members of society ; finally they invoke His presence 
when death approaches, to prepare them for their journey 
into eternity. All such considerations are scorned and ridi- 
culed by infidels, who boast of depriving their children of 
baptism, who substitute a civil contract for the religious cere- 
mony of marriage, who on their deathbed repulse the minis- 
trations of a priest and finally desecrate death itself by making 
provision in their wills for the cremation of their bodies. It 
is the final act of the atheist in defiance of Christ and His 
Church. The pagans used to throw the bodies of the mar- 
tyred Christians into the flames and vainly, imagined that the 
resurrection of their bodies was thereby rendered impossible. 
Of course in time of war or pestilence, when neither time nor 
opportunity allows corpses to be buried, and delay were a men- 
ace to the living, then in the interests of public safety, the 
Church permits cremation. But under ordinary circumstances 
she wants her children to receive the benefit of the Requiem 
Mass with all the prayers of her ritual. She desires their re- 
mains to be buried in consecrated ground under the shadow 
of the cross." 

"-Of course Catholics as a general rule," said Fr. Nathan, 
" must be buried in a Catholic cemetery, but didn't the Balti- 
more Council make an exception in favor of converts ? " 

" Yes," replied Fr. Michaels, " in favor of converts whose 
surviving relatives have a family lot in a non-Catholic grave- 
yard, and also in favor of Catholics who, in good faith, ac- 
quired title to such a lot before or even after the promulgation 
of the decree in 1853 forbidding them. Outside of these cases 
no priest is allowed to conduct the funeral services of the 



104 Polemic Chat 

taithful buried in a non-Catholic cemetery without the per- 
mission of the bishop." 

" I have often wondered," said Fr. Nathan, " why the 
Church is so rigorous in forbidding the interment of non- 
Catholics in our cemeteries. Refusal seems rather cruel, es- 
pecially in the case of unbaptized infants, mixed marriages, 
etc. We had just such a case here a few months ago. The 
Bishop granted permission, but insisted upon the casket being 
bricked up and separated from the other graves." 

" The relatives could not blame you," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" Burial in a Catholic cemetery is regarded as a kind of com- 
munion. According to Leo the Great, we cannot hold com- 
munion in death with those who in life were not in communion 
with us. The funeral rites of the Church constitute a mark 
of respect which is not to be shown to those who in their lives 
have proved themselves unworthy of it. The Roman ritual, 
vi, c. ii, denies Christian burial to Pagans, Jews and infidels; 
to heretics and their adherents ; to apostates, schismatics and 
persons excommunicated by name or placed under an interdict ; 
to suicides who have taken their lives through desperation or 
anger (excepting the insane), or unless before death they 
showed signs of repentance; to those killed in a duel even 
though repenting before death ; notorious sinners who die im- 
penitent ; those who have not received the sacraments of con- 
fession and Communion once a year during the Easter time 
and have expired without any sign of sorrow ; unbaptized in- 
fants and those having made provision for the cremation of 
their bodies after death." 

" Oh, had Paxton not received the last sacraments," ex- 
claimed Fr. Nathan, " I would certainly decline to officiate in 
any capacity at the funeral and forbid his remains to be 
brought to the church." 

" Poor Paxton hadn't the remotest notion of dying when 
I parted with him last Monday," said Fr. 'Michaels. " Who 
does ever think of it? Preparation for death should be our 
chief occupation in life. Although no other affair can be 
more lamentable in its failure, yet how little concerned we are 



Cremation 105 

about preparing for eternity! We can talk glibly enough 
about trifles pertaining to our honor, interest or amusement, 
but the theme of death is invariably banished from our con- 
versation." 

" You can talk about it at the funeral if you like," said Fr. 
Nathan. " Why not remain over and preach the sermon ? " 

" Thanks," replied Fr. Michaels, " but I am due in Pittsburg 
Friday. If I were to preach, it would not be a eulogy on 
poor Paxton, who only furnished young men with an example 
of what they should avoid. I don't believe in flattering pane- 
gyrics that do not help the departed, and merely furnish the 
surviving relatives with ammunition for their vanity. What 
I shall do, is to call upon the grief -stricken mother before my 
departure." 

And he kept his word. For the next day he visited the 
heartbroken woman and tried his best to console her. He 
realized how little any expression of condolence could avail in 
her bereavement. " The case would have been far worse," he 
said, " if her boy had been killed instantly." 

She brightened up when he told her how her son had called 
upon him at the rectory and spoke of his mother in terms the 
most affectionate. 

" Why, what could have induced him to visit you, Father ? " 
she asked, the tears glistening in her eyes. "If he saw Fr. 
Nathan approaching the front door, he usually disappeared 
through the kitchen." 

Would he tell her how her unfortunate boy had contem- 
plated marrying a divorced woman ? Perish the thought. She 
had already sorrow enough. " Oh, he came to me for spiritual 
advice," he replied. That was indeed no lie. 



CHAPTER XXI 

PREDESTINATION 

Fr. Michaels boarded the Pennsylvania Limited which left 
the Chicago Union Depot precisely at 3 :oo p. m. Shortly after 
the train passed Englewood a porter entered the smoking com- 
partment. He unlocked several doors, made a few dabs with 
a dust rag at the faucets and basins and finally laid out an 
array of small towels for the benefit of those inclined to lave 
themselves of Chicago's dirt and smoke. 

" Does this train stop at Valparaiso ? " asked a portly pas- 
senger who was pulling vigorously at a Bridgeport panatella. 

" No, sah," retorted the knight of the whisk broom, with 
something akin to indignation in his tone. " Dis heah train 
don't eben hesitate at Valparaiso. It only stops at Fote Wayne 
befoh it reaches Pittsburg at midnight." After a while most 
of the smokers retired, leaving the compartment in possession 
of the portly gentleman and Fr. Michaels. 

" Getting off at Pittsburg ? " he asked of the clergyman. 

" Yes, sir," replied the latter. 

" Well, you are going to a mighty dirty town. I have al- 
ways regarded it as a pocket edition of Chicago. Pittsburg 
has one advantage, though, over Chicago ; its streets are always 
clean after a rain, because they all run down hill." 

" Perhaps that accounts for the downward pace of some 
of its millionaires," remarked Fr. Michaels. 

" Maybe," laughed the portly gentleman ; -then scrutinizing 
the Roman collar, he added : " I would size you up for a 
preacher." 

" I am afraid that you might change your mind if you ever 
heard me," replied the latter. 

106 



Predestination 107 

" Ah, I knew that I could not be mistaken," said the portly 
gentleman, complacently. " Are you an Episcopalian ? " 

" No, sir, I am a Catholic priest from Mackinac Island, Mich- 
igan." 

" You don't say ! I spent a week up there last summer at 
the Grand, and I never met so many gentlemen of the Jewry 
before in all my life. They are about the only ones who can 
afford to stop there. Delightful spot, isn't it? I enjoyed 
rambling through those groves of pine and balsam. Your peo- 
ple have the finest church on the island." 

" It is a fine church for a small place," said Fr. Michaels, 
" but rather a lonesome one in winter." 

" I am not much of a church-goer," said the portly passen- 
ger. " It has been a case of bread and butter with me since I 
left school. I really never had any time for religion. I al- 
ways try to treat everybody on the square. The Lord decided 
our fate before we were born. He knows whether I shall be 
saved or lost in the shuffle. Hence it would do me no good to 
worry about it." 

" First call for dinner ! " shouted a white-aproned waiter 
as he passed the doorway. 

" That sounds good to me," said the portly gentleman. 
" Come out and watch me turn the bill of fare into a hungry 
man." 

"What is the use of worrying about dinner?" said the 
priest. " I can't understand why you worked so hard or what 
induced you to take this train for Pittsburg. Why didn't you 
leave all these things to God who knew from eternity whether 
you would realize them or not ? " 

" Leave your grandmother," exclaimed the portly gentle- 
man. " I have inside information that it is time to eat. I 
haven't had a bite since breakfast, but have been racing around 
tending to business until train time." 

" You certainly ought to do as much for the business of 
your eternal salvation," said the priest. " Why not give it 
serious thought, as if it all depended upon you? Were you 
ever in the Board of Trade? " 



io8 Polemic Chat 

"Yes, and to judge from the antics of those brokers, one 
might imagine that they had broken loose from an asylum." 

" Your seeing them interfered in no way with their liberty 
of action, did it ? " asked the priest. 

" Why, no." 

" Well," continued the priest, " God knows all past, pres- 
ent and future events down to their minutest details. He 
leaves us free to do and say what we please according to the 
liberty He has given us. We do things, not because He sees 
them, but He sees them because we .do them. His knowledge 
of our actions in no way hampers our freedom. If we ob- 
serve His law and abstain from sin, or if we truly repent of sin 
committed, He sees that we will be saved. If we sin griev- 
ously and persevere in it unrepentant until death, He foresees 
that we shall be lost. His infinite knowledge is like the mirror 
in the panel of that door in which all our movements, even 
the most insignificant, are most accurately reflected. On what 
depends that one gesture rather than another is portrayed in 
that glass? On our individual liberty. Man is like an actor 
on the stage. What does the audience perceive? Just what 
the actor does and nothing more. Although God knows per- 
fectly well before the curtain rises just what the drama will 
be, yet it will not differ from what the actor intends to make 
it. A while ago you said : ' God knows whether I shall be 
saved or lost.' You wished to thereby convey that if you 
are predestined, you shall be saved ; and if not predestined, no 
matter what you may do, you shall be lost. That is the heresy 
of Calvin, claiming that God created some to be saved and 
others to be damned, irrespective of their merits or demerits. 
Now, what has God done in predestination? He has sanc- 
tioned with His decree what He has foreseen you to freely de- 
termine. If God has foreseen that, by abusing your freedom 
and His grace, you will continue in sin until death, He has 
decreed that you shall be lost. His foreknowledge, however, 
is not the cause of these events happening, but He foresees 
them because they shall occur. Predestination is not the cause 
of your doing good or evil and thus saving or losing your soul ; 



Predestination 109 

but the fact of your choosing a wicked or virtuous life is really 
why God sees you from all eternity among the reprobate or 
elect." 

" But then," said the portly gentleman, " I don't see how 
God's decree regarding my salvation can be infallible, if I am 
free to adopt my own mode of living." 

"Your objection," said Fr. Michaels, "cannot be urged 
against your salvation any more than against the recuperation 
of your health, the gaining of a victory or any other event 
foreseen by God as depending upon your free will. All these 
natural events, though known by God from eternity, we firmly 
believe to depend upon our efforts. Hence to regain health 
we submit to medical treatment; to sustain life we eat, and to 
conquer we fight. So it is in the supernatural order ; although 
God wishes all men to be saved, yet we firmly believe that it 
depends upon their cooperation. Hence they must pray, 
avoid temptation and observe His law. Just as you would rea- 
sonably ascribe the loss of health, fortune and life to the neg- 
ligence of the person ignoring the necessary means to pre- 
serve these things, and not to the fact of their having been 
foreknown by God, so the loss of salvation should be attributed 
to the criminal negligence of the unfortunate sinner refusing 
to employ the necessary means to obtain it. When God de- 
creed our restoration to health, the preservation of our life and 
fortune, it was because He foresaw that we would employ 
efficacious remedies, avoid dissipation, practice economy, etc. 
Likewise when He predestined us for eternal happiness or mis- 
ery, it was because He foresaw that we would adopt or discard 
the means of salvation." 



CHAPTER XXII 

EXISTENCE OF HELL 

" You surely don't believe," said the portly gentleman, 
" that an all merciful God will condemn anyone to the eternal 
pains of hell, do you? " 

" I certainly do," said Fr. Michaels, " just as I believe that 
an all just God will reward the good with the eternal joys of 
heaven. God is not only merciful, He is also just. His mercy 
cannot be foolishly exaggerated to the exclusion of His 
justice. He is good, and for that reason He sent His only 
begotten Son into the world to redeem it by His passion and 
death upon the cross. According to St. Paul, He wishes all 
men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 
Hence He affords us all sufficient grace to attain salvation. 
He is all merciful and forgives us after we have grievously 
offended Him, provided we repent. But on the other hand 
His infinite mercy doesn't blind Him, doesn't render Him stu- 
pid or an accomplice of our iniquities. Although infinitely 
good, the Bible assures us that He created a place of never- 
ending torment for the rebellious angels with whom thieves, 
drunkards, adulterers and other transgressors of His law shall 
be associated. Notwithstanding His infinite mercy He de- 
stroys peoples and nations when the measure of their crimes 
is filled up. He often strikes down the obdurate sinner in the 
midst of his iniquity. The same merciful Redeemer who for- 
gave Mary Magdalen, the woman taken in adultery, and the 
repentant thief on the cross, has also solemnly declared : ' You 
shall seek me, but you shall not find me, and you shall die in 
your sin.' We Catholics believe in the eternal pains of hell 
just as firmly as in the everlasting joys of heaven, and as much 
as in the infinite perfections of God Himself." 

no 



Existence of Hell in 

" No one ever came back from hell to tell us about it," said 
the portly gentleman. 

" Very true," replied Fr. Michaels. " Those having the 
misfortune to go there are not supplied with return tickets. 
Belief in eternal punishments and rewards for man after death 
is as old as the world and as widespread as the human race. 
This conviction is so thoroughly implanted in the human con- 
science that we find it among all nations ancient and modern, 
civilized and barbarian. It forms a part of nearly every 
creed. The Universalists are about the only sect daring to 
repudiate it. By so doing they brazenly contradict the plain 
assertions of Him, who on fifteen different occasions, speaks 
in His Gospel of " everlasting punishment," "unquenchable, 
inextinguishable, fire." Whom are we to believe? Short- 
sighted sentimentalists who do not know what they are talking 
about, or Him who is the way, the truth and the life? What 
audacity that man with his puny reason should presume to 
fathom the inscrutable decrees of God Who can neither de- 
ceive nor be deceived ! " 

" Well, I don't pretend to know much about His decrees," 
said the portly passenger, " but just the same it would take a 
good deal of reasoning to persuade me that God is going to 
send anyone to hell." 

"Why?" asked the priest. 

" Because God would be guilty of revenging Himself, and 
revenge doesn't harmonize very well with the spirit of Chris- 
tianity." 

" Indeed," said the priest. " Then we miserable creatures 
can insult and outrage His infinite majesty as we please, and 
God is powerless to command our respect ! Think of what 
you say when you attribute revenge to the Deity. We mortals 
are not allowed to take revenge for many reasons. In the 
first place because we can never fully know the extent of guilt 
our offending neighbor has in his heart which is seen by God 
alone. We are forbidden to take revenge because it implies 
an act of authority which one individual cannot exercise over 
another for the simple reason that he doesn't possess it. We 



ii2 Polemic Chat 

are not allowed to take revenge because passion usually blinds 
our judgment whenever our personal interests are involved. 
It is forbidden us because God wishes us to imitate the meek- 
ness and charity of Christ. For these and many other reasons 
revenge becomes in us a transgression. But in God, the Su- 
preme Lord and Master, the case is altogether different. Sin 
is a most grave disorder, for it violates His eternal law, and 
it must be repaired. When sinful man does not repair the of- 
fense by voluntary expiation it must be repaired by compulsory 
reparation, and God being the author of all order attends to 
it personally. In Him is perfect knowledge of the fault and 
all its circumstances. Hence He can exact reparation with 
perfect justice. In Him is supreme authority. Therefore 
He only exercises His right. In Him there is not, nor 
can there be blindness of passion. Consequently He judges 
with perfect equanimity. He punishes the fault because both 
its deformity and His infinite justice demand it. According 
to our feeble mode of expression we call divine vengeance what 
is simply an act of supreme justice rectifying the evil of sin 
with the good of the punishment. Don't delude yourself with 
the idea that God is only good and merciful, for it may ex- 
pose you to the danger of finding Him only just. There are 
two kinds of sinners who ought to take this into serious consid- 
eration. Those continually presuming on His infinite mercy. 
Let them realize that His very mercy compels Him to punish 
them, lest there be established in the world the vicious prin- 
ciple that the more merciful He is, the greater the liberty of 
offending Him with impunity. The other class is composed 
of those continually vilifying and persecuting the good, be- 
cause they suffer in patience. Of course the latter cannot, 
must not, seek revenge during the present time of probation. 
But a day will come when, free from human passions and 
through pure zeal of justice, they will cry to heaven for ven- 
geance, and God, Who reserves to Himself the right of re- 
venge, will hear their prayer. He shall then render it clear to 
everyone that His goodness does not prevent Him from pun- 
ishing crime, and that to take revenge for the offenses com- 



Existence of Hell 113 

mitted against His holy law is not incompatible with His infin- 
ite justice." 

" Do you believe," asked the portly passenger, " that devils 
armed with pitchforks are incessantly prodding the reprobates 
in a pool of fire and brimstone? " 

" The pitchforks and brimstone," rejoined Fr. Michaels, 
" are figments of the imagination. Catholic faith teaches that 
the pains of hell are eternal and of a twofold nature — the 
pain of loss and the pain of sense. The first consists in the 
privation of the beatific vision, the loss of God the greatest 
good which alone can satiate the longings of the human soul. 
The continual consciousness of this irreparable loss causes the 
reprobate unutterable anguish. The indescribable torment of 
sense is produced by a real, material, inextinguishable fire 
which differs from ordinary fire, as it doesn't need to be re- 
plenished with fuel in order to continue burning." 

" I hate to think of it," said the portly gentleman. 

" It isn't a cheerful topic," commented the priest, " any 
more than the penitentiary, the noose or the electric chair. If 
people meditated more on hell, they would hesitate before of- 
fending God." 

" Well, Father, I have enjoyed the talk just the same," 
said the portly gentleman. " Won't you join me at dinner ? " 

" Thank you very much," replied the priest. " I dined very 
heartily before boarding the train. I will recite my breviary 
while you are at table. If you like, we may resume our con- 
versation upon your return." 



CHAPTER XXIII 

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT 

" Father," asked the portly gentleman upon his return from 
the dining car, "what do you think of capital punishment?" 

" In certain cases I think it necessary," replied the priest. 
" I don't believe in public executions nor in lurid descriptions 
of them by the newspapers." 

"I have always regarded capital punishment," said the ro- 
bust passenger, " as a legal assassination. If I were on a 
jury trying a man for murder, I would certainly not vote to 
hang him." 

" Well," rejoined the priest, " to consider capital punishment 
as a legal assassination implies that it is unnatural, intrinsically 
evil, and consequently in no time, place or circumstance lawful. 
Anyone familiar with the Bible knows that in the Old Law 
the Jewish priests and people were divinely commanded to 
punish certain crimes with death. Evidently then in the sight 
of God there are transgressions for which capital punishment 
is not excessive. Among all nations and in all ages it has 
been inflicted for certain crimes. Do you think that the whole 
human race has agreed upon making assassination a law ? Of 
course anarchists, assassins and burglars are unanimously 
against it for obvious reasons." 

" Well," retorted the fat man with a little warmth, " I am 
neither an anarchist, assassin, nor burglar, and I am against it. 
The object of punishment is to reform the culprit and make 
of him a better citizen. How will you accomplish that by 
electrocuting or stringing him up ? " 

" If the sole end of justice," replied the priest, " were the ref- 
ormation of the guilty, your objection might have some weight. 
But penalties are needed for restoring order and protecting 

114 



Capital Punishment 115 

society. For most murderers capital punishment has been a 
signal blessing. It has been the sole means of making them 
prepare for eternity. After sentence has been pronounced 
and the day of their execution appointed, they begin to realize 
the enormity of their crime and return to God by a sincere 
repentance. Usually the only reformed murderer is the one 
executed. Of course there are other ways of converting him 
besides putting him to death. The state cares for its citizens 
collectively and for the individual citizen only in his collective 
aspect. It never hangs a man for his own good, but for the 
good of the community. In many instances the extreme pen- 
alty is necessary, if we wish to have any semblance of propor- 
tion between the crime and its punishment. In how many 
cases have we felt that hanging was altogether too mild a 
chastisement? Finally it is necessary for the protection of 
society. Violated rights must be vindicated and ample pro- 
tection must be given against future attack. While the former 
may be obtained by condemning the culprit to hard labor for 
life, the only efficacious remedy for protecting the lives of the 
citizens is by putting murderers out of existence. Their exe- 
cution has a salutary influence upon others murderously in- 
clined." 

" But life imprisonment would bring about that result," said 
the portly gentleman. 

" Hardly," replied the priest. " If fear of death itself is un- 
able to deter certain criminals, the terrors of a life sentence 
will have little effect upon them. Rarely will you find a cul- 
prit condemned to life imprisonment who doesn't entertain the 
hope of being eventually liberated before the expiration of 
his sentence, either through executive clemency or flight." 

" Well, no man," said the portly passenger, " has the right to 
take away the life of his fellowman, and the commandment: 
' Thou shalt not kill,' is binding upon the State just as much 
as upon the individuals composing it." 

" The power of inflicting capital punishment, like the power 
of levying taxes and enforcing laws for its preservation, is in- 
herent in the State, not in the individual," replied Fr. Mi- 



n6 Polemic Chat 

chaels. " While in self-defense man is justified in killing his 
fellowman, he can never do so as an act of retributive justice 
which would be usurping the State's prerogatives." 

" That sounds like state absolutism," said the stout gentle- 
man. " You evidently believe in the ' divine right of kings.' " 

" Not at all," rejoined Fr. Michaels. " That was the pet 
theory of the so-called reformers. Henry VIII and James I 
of England claimed the plenitude of both spiritual and civil 
authority, to such a degree that it could never slip away from 
them or their descendants. When James I mounted the throne 
of England and proclaimed that ' God appointed the king abso- 
lute master, and all privileges which co-legislative bodies en- 
joy, are pure concessions proceeding from the king's bounty,' 
a cowardly parliament swallowed this bitter pill of absolutism 
without a murmur. But when a court preacher embodied the 
same sentiment in a flattering discourse before Philip II of 
Catholic Spain, do you know what happened? The populace 
denounced him to the Inquisition, and the unfortunate man 
was not only severely reprimanded, but obliged to retract his 
words in presence of the king. We Catholics believe that all 
authority, whether of monarchy or republic, is neither from 
king nor people, but from God. We recognize the civil au- 
thorities as His representatives, and, as such, render them obe- 
dience." 

" You don't believe, then, in the sovereignty of the people, 
or in letting the people rule ? " asked the portly gentleman. 

" No, I don't believe in the senseless political twaddle ut- 
tered by demagogues to catch the popular vote. How can the 
people give what they do not possess? Authority alone is 
the basis of all rule and legislation. By authority we mean the 
power of defining rights and obligations, rewarding observers 
and punishing transgressors of its precepts. No man can be at 
the same time his own legislator and subject. Conscience 
therefore must be the interpreter of some authority superior 
to the individual. It must reecho the voice of the Supreme 
Legislator. The natural sense of right and wrong revealed 
to each one through the dictates of conscience must be iden- 



Capital Punishment 117 

tical with the eternal law. The same principle applies to indi- 
viduals when united in civil society. The binding power of 
human legislation consists in enforcing the natural law, in ap- 
plying the eternal principles of equity and justice. If the civil 
power enacts unjust measures and consequently opposed to 
the eternal law, the fountain head of all legislation, there is 
no obligation to observe them. Because civil law can only 
oblige in so far as it is an expression of the Divine Will. 
Hence the Apostles refused to obey the civil authority for- 
bidding them to preach in the name of Jesus. They followed 
the injunction of our Divine Redeemer : ' Render unto Caesar 
the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are 
God's.' Such has ever been the doctrine theoretically and 
practically advocated by the Catholic Church. Despotism has 
never found a shelter within her fold. Read the history of 
her struggles throughout the ages, and you will find that they 
were invariably with tyrannical rulers and not with their un- 
fortunate subjects. When the so-called sovereign people are 
permitted to rule, what happens? In applying the law to 
transgressors, there is never question of reforming or life 
imprisonment. Without preliminary trial or review of evi- 
dence they resort to mob violence which speedily terminates 
in a lynching bee or burning at the stake. On account of the 
barbarous excesses of the Sovereign People wreaking ven- 
geance upon supposed law-breakers, the State of Colorado 
restored capital punishment in 1901, although four years previ- 
ously it had been erased from the statute books. Capital pun- 
ishment then is not a legal assassination and to assert that civil 
authority has not the right to inflict it for certain offenses is 
to ignore the A-B-C of jurisprudence. It is only when men 
begin to seek the kingdom of heaven rather than the gratifica- 
tion of their passions that the need of capital punishment will 
cease to exist. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

NECESSITY OF RELIGION 

" Father," said the portly gentleman, " I don't think heaven 
so hard to reach as you priests imagine. I rarely see the inside 
of a church, unless it be to attend a wedding or funeral. We 
don't have to enter a church in order to pray, do we ? " 

" Very true," replied Fr. Michaels, " God can hear our 
prayers wherever we happen to be. Yet those wishing to be 
heard when they address a king, usually go to his court and 
present themselves in the proper place of audience. Now the 
church is the proper place of audience of the Great King of 
kings. Although He can hear the voice of man everywhere, 
still it was expedient that certain places should be set apart 
and dedicated to His honor above all others, in order to awaken 
reverence in men and encourage them when they offered their 
petitions. * My house shall be called a house of prayer.' God 
has a special connection with the temples erected for divine 
worship under his direction and inspiration. In the universe 
He is seen as the Almighty Creator and Ruler, but in the 
church He is manifested as the Savior of men. In the works 
of creation He gives us the natural revelations of Flimself, 
but in the church we have His Gospel revelations. We Cath- 
olics frequent the church in order to assist at the Holy Sacrifice 
of the Mass, receive the sacraments and hear the word of 
God." 

" But what is the use of all these rites' and ceremonies ? 
I worship God in my heart and that ought to suffice." 

" Well, my robust friend," said the priest, " let us briefly 
analyze your so-called religion of the heart and see if it be 
really enough. Man is a creature composed of a soul and 
body. The soul taken alone is a separated spirit ; the body 

118 



Necessity of Religion 119 

without the soul is a corpse. To form a living man they must 
be united. In consequence of this union how does man act? 
His every act is a combined operation proceeding from soul 
and body. Just try to feel some sentiment in your soul without 
giving it outward manifestation. You turn pale with fear, 
red with anger and green with envy. Your face becomes ra- 
diant with joy, depressed with sorrow, and if desperately in 
love the symptoms may be recognized a block away. If this 
be the case with our ordinary actions, why shouldn't it be 
so in our exercise of religion? How would you define re- 
ligion ? " 

" I wouldn't," replied the fat man, slightly coloring at his 
embarrassment. 

" Religion," continued the priest, " is a virtue obliging man 
to render due homage to the Creator. Even if man were able 
to worship God solely in his heart, it would not suffice. Why ? 
Because religion is a duty incumbent not- only upon the in- 
dividual man, but also upon society. The people must take 
part in it. If each man is absolutely dependent on God and 
morally obliged to acknowledge that dependence by some out- 
ward act of recognition, a similar duty obliges the whole human 
society which is but an organized multitude of men. Society 
depends upon God just as much as the individuals composing 
it. Hence we Catholics have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 
which is a public act of worship offered by the priest for so- 
ciety, for the people. Were the President to visit Chicago, 
would the patriotic citizens content themselves with honoring 
him privately in their hearts ? Hardly. You would see public 
buildings and residences gorgeously decorated and no end 
of receptions and banquets arranged in his honor. Now God 
is Supreme Lord and Master not only of individuals, but also 
of society. Therefore society is bound to recognize and adore 
Him by public acts of religious worship. Can its members 
unite in purely mental acts like the angels without any 
external communication? This may be characteristic of those 
practicing " religion of the heart," but we poor mortals cannot 
have religion of the heart without revealing it through the 



120 Polemic Chat 

senses. Have you any special time set apart for practicing 
this marvelous cult? Do you really enter within yourself 
occasionally and humbly ask God's pardon for your sins, at 
the same time firmly resolving to offend Him no more? At 
stated intervals do you actually offer Him the worship of that 
great heart of yours which, you claim, is the only incense that 
should burn upon the altar of the Divinity? Or isn't it rather 
a subterfuge, because you realize that total absence of religion 
might place you before the world on a level with the brute? 
To profess any religion would be equivalent to assuming its 
obligations, and that you do not wish to do. Hence you have 
recourse to an invisible religion, viz : that of the heart. Thus 
you avoid the stigma of being considered irreligious, at the 
same time ignoring all religious duties. It is certainly a won- 
derful invention, for one may claim to cultivate religion of the 
heart while leading the life of a pagan! The only drawback 
is that while hoodwinking the world, it is impossible to deceive 
God Who sees the inmost recesses of the heart." 

" That may be all very true," said the portly gentleman, 
" but I am still waiting for you to show me what need God 
has of your rites and ceremonies or what advantage He derives 
from your bowing and scraping in the churches." 

" Why," replied Fr. Michaels, " God has no need of our 
prayers nor does He derive any advantage from our cere- 
monies. The need and advantage are entirely on our side. 
Did you imagine for a moment that we base the necessity 
of religious worship on the indigence of the Creator? We 
are absolutely dependent upon Him, not He upon us. If He 
did not continually preserve us, we would lapse into our orig- 
inal nothingness. Do you see that beautiful moon shedding 
its silvery rays over the adjacent country? Let us imagine 
that the moon didn't wish to depend upon" the sun on the 
pretext that the sun doesn't need it! It is not for the sun's 
good that the moon must depend, but for its own advantage, 
otherwise it would remain in perpetual darkness. The judge 
doesn't need the culprit, the rich do not need the poor, nor 
do the strong need the weak. God certainly doesn't need us 



Necessity of Religion 121 

miserable sinners, but we stand in constant need of His grace 
and mercy. Does the absence of need on the part of the cred- 
itor dispense his debtors from paying what they lawfully owe 
him? Almighty God has such an essential, absolute and in- 
alienable right to our gratitude, worship and adoration, that 
He could not dispense us from these religious duties without 
ceasing to be God." 

" But," retorted the portly gentleman, " did not the Savior 
expressly condemn external worship when He said to the 
Samaritan woman at the well : ' The hour cometh and now is 
when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in 
truth'?" 

" No, He didn't," replied the priest, " otherwise He would 
have contradicted Himself when in the garden of Gethsemane 
He prostrated Himself in prayer to His eternal Father, or 
when He attended the sacrifices and other religious functions 
in the temple. Adoration in truth implies external worship. 
If you refuse externally with your body to adore God the 
Creator, Preserver and Benefactor of your body as well as 
of your soul, you cannot be rightfully called a true adorer. In 
the passage quoted our Lord wished to teach that the sacri- 
fices of Jews and Samaritans were soon to be replaced by a 
true form of worship of which spiritual, interior feelings of 
reverence towards God and correct notions of Him would be 
the chief characteristics. He contrasts the true adorers with 
the Jews and Samaritans of that period, not with those who 
lived according to the spirit of the Law. The patriarchs and 
prophets certainly adored God in spirit and in truth, though 
they performed external acts of worship. They outwardly 
expressed what they inwardly felt." 



CHAPTER XXV 

GAMBLING 

During the conversation of Fr. -Michaels with his fellow 
passenger a trio of gentlemen were deeply absorbed in a game 
of poker at a table in a corner of the smoking compartment. 
" I don't suppose you sanction that kind of amusement," said 
the fat man, nodding his head in the direction of the players 
and slyly winking at one of them, a grizzled, bottle-scarred 
veteran. " The churches are opposed to popular amusements, 
Sunday baseball, cards, dancing, and the theater. 

" What harm can there be for a crowd of men and boys to 
watch an interesting game of baseball on a Sunday after- 
noon ? " 

" No harm whatever," replied Fr. Michaels. " All week 
they are cooped up in factories, stores or offices. If Catholics 
comply with their religious duties by assisting at Mass Sunday 
morning, the Church does not object to their taking innocent 
recreation in the afternoon. It is far better for them to be 
out on the bleachers developing their lungs at the expense 
of umpire and players than to be squandering their week's 
wages in debauchery. A sound mind in a sound body is a 
blessing that we cannot long possess without occasional recrea- 
tion. Amusements are therefore necessary. They are the 
orchestra accompanying us through life's drama, childhood, 
youth, manhood and old age. At death the curtain falls and 
rises in eternity, where we are rewarded or punished according 
as we have merited." 

" Oh, I believe in plenty of outdoor exercise," said the fat 
man, thumping himself reproachfully upon the abdomen. " I 
know that I don't get enough of it." 

122 



Gambling 123 

" So say we all of us," ejaculated one of the players. 
"What have you got?" 

" A pair of typewriters," responded the veteran. 

" No good," exclaimed the first. " I have aces." 

" In taking recreation," continued Fr. Michaels, " three 
things must be avoided. We must not seek enjoyment in 
things unlawful or injurious. Some amusements are essen- 
tially degrading and demoralizing, as e. g., cock-fights, dog- 
fights and prize-fights to a finish. No self-respecting person 
should encourage such spectacles by his presence. The ban 
should be placed on those slugging football games which re- 
quire the services of an undertaker or at least a surgeon. The 
same may be said of the annual auto and motor cycle races, 
and the Marathon endurance tests, after which some of the 
participants are physical wrecks fit for the cemetery or asylum. 
The next thing to be avoided are scurrilous and profane re- 
marks like the ones uttered by that fellow every time he pre- 
tends to fail in drawing to his hand. Our amusements should 
always be in keeping with the dignity of man and our respect- 
ive state in life. No one takes offense at the laity attending 
a ball, a horse-race, or a theatre. But the presence of the 
clergy at such entertainments would occasion scandal. In 
the selection of their amusements they must be guided by the 
Apostolic injunction declaring that what is not expedient or 
edifying is not allowed. Amusements, finally, should be in- 
dulged in at the proper time and place, always in moderation 
and never interfering with duty, otherwise they become un- 
lawful." 

" Wouldn't you like to take a hand, Father? " asked one of 
the players. " I'll stake you for a dollar's worth of chips." 

" Oh, no, thank you," replied the priest. " I seldom play 
cards in private and never in public." 

" Fairy tales," hummed the veteran, who held his cards 
almost at arm's length, and yet it was never possible to see all 
five of them in spite of his apparent recklessness. " How 
would you play that hand ? " he asked, exhibiting to the on- 
lookers what resembled a flush of diamonds. 



124 Polemic Chat 

" Oh, that should be worth at least a white one," commented 
the fat man. 

" Yes, and then some," retorted the veteran, shoving a blue 
chip to the center of the table. " I may as well let you fellows 
down easy, for you're both young and inexperienced." 

" Sorry that I can't even see you," whined one. 

" Nor I," chimed in the other, laying down a small pair. 

Meanwhile the veteran raked in the pot on a bob-tailed flush, 
which he lost no time in shuffling with the rest of the pack. 
" That's where you showed good horse sense," he exclaimed. 
" You may not realize it, but you're saving money every min- 
ute. Seeing people is an expensive luxury and the one who 
calls usually loses." 

" Do you think that honest ? " whispered the fat man to the 
priest. 

" Oh, bluff is a part of the game," replied the priest. " Such 
ruses are allowed, otherwise the players might fall asleep. It 
were dishonest if he marked the cards, had a few up his sleeve, 
dealt from the bottom of the deck, or saw the cards of the 
others in yonder mirror. He would then be bound in con- 
science to restore whatever he dishonestly won." 

" Don't you regard gambling as a sin ? " continued the fat 
man. 

" Not any more than I regard drinking a sin," replied the 
priest. " The sin in both cases lies in the abuse. Gambling 
in the strict sense is risking a forfeit upon the result of a 
chance game. To this category belong shaking dice, flipping 
coins and all card games into which there may enter an ele- 
ment of skill as well as of chance. Billiards and baseball, 
checkers and chess are regarded as scientific games in which, 
however, good luck often plays an important part. Nothing 
betrays a man's character quicker than the way he plays a 
game. If he possess a proud, covetous and irascible disposi- 
tion, it will speedily come to the surface. To play any lawful 
game in moderation for trivial stakes just to keep up the inter- 
est is not wrong. All our thoughts, words and actions, amuse- 
ments as well as afflictions, should refer in a measure to our 



Gambling 125 

last end. ' Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you 
do,' says the Apostle, ' do all to the glory of God.' He accepts 
the oblation of our most commonplace actions, such as our 
meals, recreations and our sleep, because they all enter into 
the order of His divine Providence. When amusements do 
not interfere, but help us rather in the attainment of our last 
end, they become a virtue. Wagering or betting is not con- 
sidered gambling unless the stakes be high. Moral theology 
is silent as to what constitutes a high stake. It must be deter- 
mined according to the relative financial standing of the play- 
ers. In order that playing a game for stakes may be free from 
sin, the four following conditions are required: 1. The player 
must risk his own money or property and have the free dis- 
posal of it. 2. He must act freely and not be unjustly co- 
erced. 3. There must be no fraud or cheating. The ordinary 
ruses of the game, however, are allowed. 4. The chances of 
winning should be as equally divided as possible. An expert 
should not be pitted against a tyro unless the latter be given 
a suitable handicap. With the observance of these conditions, 
and if the object of the game be honest, the contestants enter 
upon a valid contract. They are obliged to pay their debts of 
honor although they cannot be legally compelled to do so. 
Owing to the many scandals and abuses, public gambling has 
been made a statutory offense in most countries. 

" Some persons are born with an hereditary tendency to 
gamble as well as to drink immoderately and their only salva- 
tion is total abstinence from both. I remember the case of a 
young man who called one day to take the pledge against gam- 
bling. He had contracted the habit of feeding fifteen or 
twenty dollars of his salary on pay day to a slot machine kept 
in a cigar store. To beat these gambling devices the player 
has about one chance in a million. This unfortunate man had 
fallen into the clutches of a loan shark, to whom he was pay- 
ing a monthly interest of ten per cent, on two hundred dollars ! 
How many gamble away in a single night more than they could 
honestly earn in a week or a month ! The craze has unfortu- 
nately taken hold of our society women for whom there is no 



126 Polemic Chat 

true home life with its sacred responsibilities. These votaries 
of the gay world regard children as a nuisance, and husbands 
simply as the providers of their pleasures, a happy convenience 
for furnishing the money necessary for their unlimited ex- 
travagance in dress, bridge whist, theater parties and recep- 
tions. Home for them means the retirement in which they 
rest between one round of dissipation and another, and in 
which, after having slept part of their fatigue away, they begin 
anew to powder and paint, frizzle and primp for the next social 
onslaught. I recall a rather pathetic case that happened only 
a few years ago. Several society dames were invited to a 
luncheon, the guest of honor being a member of the theatrical 
profession. After the repast a game of bridge was introduced 
by way of entertainment. When one of the ladies was about 
to depart, the hostess informed her that she owed the guest of 
honor some sixty dollars. Upon reaching home, she told her 
husband, who, infuriated, wrote Madame Hostess a sarcastic 
letter enclosing a check to cover not only the loss but also the 
price of the luncheon. The unfortunate lady suffered also the 
loss of her husband, from whom she was subsequently divorced. 

" Playing games for money has a tendency to foment and 
develop all the baser instincts of human nature, especially 
greed and avarice. It soon becomes a passion hard to control. 
It may easily occasion waste of time and health, loss of friends 
and wealth. The joy of the winner usually depends upon the 
grief of the loser." 

"Have you never heard of the cheerful loser?" asked the 
fat man. 

" Oh, yes," replied the priest, " but I regard him as a myth. 
No sane man sincerely rejoices over his own defeat." 



CHAPTER XXVI 

DANCING 

" From an esthetic standpoint," said the stout passenger, 
" there is no form of physical exercise that tends to give an 
easier grace and carriage to the movements of the body than 
dancing. Modern society regards it as an indispensable ac- 
complishment. If a person is invited to a social gathering and 
doesn't know how to dance, he really feels out of place and 
must act as a wall flower. I think that the churches by their 
condemnation of dancing have lost all hold and influence upon 
our young people." 

" I can only vouch for the attitude of the Catholic Church 
in regard to dancing," replied Fr. Michaels. " Certainly noth- 
ing is more natural than to dance. Surprise a child with a new 
toy and it will dance with delight. Even grown-up people are 
sometimes inclined to manifest feelings of unexpected pleasure 
in this manner. Mary, the sister of Moses, and David, the 
royal prophet, gave vent to their holy enthusiasm on certain 
occasions by dancing. Up to the middle of the last century 
religious dances were observed in some churches of Spain and 
Portugal. Dancing is not unlawful in itself if decently con- 
ducted and excluding all dangerous familiarity and impro- 
priety. It is an act of joy and the outward manifestation of 
joy is not forbidden by any law. The great trouble with our 
young people, full of life and animal spirits, is that they are 
often tempted to make a toil of a pleasure to the serious neg- 
lect of duty; they are sometimes inclined to overstep the 
bounds of moderation and even propriety. Although innocent 
of itself and occasionally employed on religious festivals, 
dancing, like many other amusements, gradually became de- 
graded through the passions. It proved one of the popular 

127 



128 Polemic Chat 

features of pagan worship. Heathen gods were honored by 
licentious dancing. The modern ballet appended to nearly 
every comic and grand opera, although generally attributed to 
the XVI century, is in reality traced back to the heathen' 
pantomimes of ancient Greece and Rome. The chorus girls 
impersonating soldiers, knights, and other masculine characters 
are an abomination and a caricature of the original ballet. 
' A woman,' says Deut. xxii, 5, * shall not be clothed with 
man's apparel, neither shall man use woman's apparel, for he 
that doth these things is abominable before God.' In Eccl. ix, 
we are warned not to frequent the company of a dancer nor 
to hearken to her conversation, lest we perish by the force of 
her charms. In another passage, which might be truthfully 
applied to many fashionable dances of the present day, we read : 
' Because the daughters of Sion are haughty and have walked 
with stretched out necks, and wanton glances of the eyes . . . 
and moved in a set pace, the Lord will cover them with shame 
and confusion.' " 

" Oh, I have no use for those Oriental importations, Salome, 
danse du ventre, bear hug and turkey trot," said the fat man. 
" I think that the police ought to raid every joint where such 
dances are being conducted. But I don't see any harm in the 
ordinary round dance, the waltz, two-step, polka, etc. The 
Catholic Church has condemned round dancing." 

" You cannot prove it by me and I certainly ought to know," 
replied Fr. Michaels. " The Baltimore Council doesn't even 
mention, much less condemn round dances. Pastors are ex- 
horted to forbid their parishioners from assisting at immodest 
dances. In this category I would not hesitate to include 
masked balls and the ones you have just mentioned. We warn 
our people against Saturday night dances, which are no prep- 
aration for the Lord's Day. We caution parents to keep their 
children away from these public ' shindigs '.with saloon attach- 
ments, which are often the theater of drunkenness, obscenity 
and even murder! I cannot understand what kind of a con- 
science parents have who allow their sons and daughters to 
frequent such places. They don't seem to realize that this 



Dancing 129 

criminal indifference loosens for their offspring every moral 
restraint, populates our city slums and Magdalen asylums." 

" Oh, those dance-halls over saloons should not be tolerated," 
said the robust passenger, " and some of the amusement re- 
sorts are just as bad. I spent a couple of months in Italy a 
few years ago. I didn't see young boys and girls gadding 
about at night as you do here." 

" Of course not," said Fr. Michaels. " The good old-fash- 
ioned Catholic custom invariably followed by all classes in 
continental Europe, viz., of sending along a chaperon with 
young people, is a prudent, laudable measure that should be 
just as rigidly observed in this country. Italian parents would 
not dream of letting their daughter go to an evening entertain- 
ment without there being three in the party, and the third 
person one in whom they have unbounded confidence. Hu- 
man nature is the same everywhere and Americans with all 
their chivalry are tempted by the world, the flesh and the devil 
just as much as the rest of men." 

" What do you think of these annual charity balls ? " asked 
the fat man. " It cost me ten dollars for one last winter." 

" Why, if that is all it cost, you may deem yourself lucky," 
replied the priest. " With the ladies the admission is the 
smallest item. They must reckon with the modiste, the florist 
and liveryman, who are really the beneficiaries of the so-called 
charity ball. Fashionable dances, to say the least, afford a 
powerful incentive to jealousy, envy, vanity and conceit. 
What feuds and wrangles have arisen from the formation of 
the various committees! Such a person was appointed, an- 
other was completely ignored, and then the slanderous gossip 
and recriminations begin in earnest. The ball is ostensibly for 
charity, but what an amount of uncharitableness it often en- 
genders ! How much valuable time is consumed in prepara- 
tion for the ball. What a satisfaction for these poor creatures 
of fashion to read in next morning's paper a glowing account 
of the gowns and jewelry they wore. They forget that rai- 
ment, being one of the consequences of original sin, the person 
drawing vanity from gorgeousness of attire is like the invalid 



130 Polemic Chat 

who would glory in the bandages covering his wounds. Of 
course, dancing is not sinful in itself. Nor is the abuse of a 
thing any argument against its proper use. Moralists, how- 
ever, assert that owing to shamelessness of attire, the unbe- 
coming freedom of manner and conversation, dancing may 
become a grievous sin. No self-respecting woman should 
parade her physical form around a ballroom in a scanty 
decollete sheath gown. The modesty of these same people 
would receive such a startling shock were they suddenly con- 
fronted at home in a night gown, wrapper or kimono by their 
near acquaintances. What strange inconsistency! Why are 
they not ashamed to appear publicly before strangers in a ball 
costume, which is infinitely worse? They may try to justify 
themselves on the plea that it is customary and fashionable. 
But our Lord calls them to an observance of Christian decency 
and not to a servile following of the fashion. The wearers 
of the hobble skirt, peek-a-boo waist and other indecent cos- 
tumes wantonly exhibiting the outline of their figure are a 
menace to public morals. There is nothing in their appearance 
to distinguish them from the denizens of the underworld. The 
modern female raiment, or rather lack of it, is largely respon- 
sible for the insults to which women are nowadays subjected 
in our parks and thoroughfares. Let them dress properly and 
they will not be molested." 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE THEATER 

" I think," said the fat passenger, " that the theater causes 
about as much damage to morals as any other agency." 

" The pulpit, press and theater are the principal factors in 
the formation of public opinion," replied Fr. Michaels. " The 
journalist and actor have an audience every day, in fact some- 
times twice a day, the moving-picture show about ten times 
a day, while the preacher reaches his congregation about once 
a week. The theater reflects rather than causes popular senti- 
ment. It certainly wields a great influence either for good or 
evil. The idiotic mannerisms and vices of society may be 
ridiculed out of existence by the withering arrows of wit and 
sarcasm hurled against them from the footlights. Stage enthu- 
siasts, after witnessing plays like ' Ben-Hur,' 'The Sign of the 
Cross,' or ' The Christian,' are inclined to style the theater ' a 
school of morals.' It might be, were all performances as free 
from censure as the ones mentioned. Unfortunately, it is 
oftener a school of scandal. People do not frequent the the- 
ater to be morally instructed. Their object is relaxation, 
amusement, instruction in the graces of dramatic art and lit- 
erature. Managers understand this perfectly. They realize 
that financial success depends upon the way in which they 
cater to popular sentiment. Hence they are constantly feeling 
the public pulse in order to ascertain what is for the moment 
popular and then reecho it in their theatrical productions. 
Being adept in the art of cajoling popular passions, the theater 
can become the vehicle of immeasurable evil. Before the fall 
of the Roman Empire the barbarous scenes of the amphithe- 
ater and the frenzied excitement of the circus contributed 

131 



132 Polemic Chat 

perhaps more than anything else to the general corruption of 
the populace." 

" Well, the Church," said the fat man, " certainly did a great 
work in abolishing those demoralizing spectacles." • 

" Yes," continued the priest, " she replaced them with re- 
ligious dramas and tragedies drawn principally from the lit- 
urgy, Scripture and Christian martyrology. Much dramatic 
element is contained in our liturgy. While the Biblical pas- 
sages recited by the priest in religious functions may be re- 
garded as the epic feature, the lyrical part is found in the 
anthems and responses chanted by the choir. During the office 
of Tenebrae in Holy Week a triangular candelabrum contain- 
ing fifteen candles is placed in the sanctuary. The top candle 
of white wax represents our Lord. At the end of the Bene- 
dictus it is hidden behind the altar and afterwards brought 
back to symbolize His death, burial and resurrection. The 
extinction of the other candles typifies the flight of the Apos- 
tles. The noise made by the slamming of books at the end 
of the Office represents the tumultuous advance and overthrow 
of the cohort led by the treacherous Judas into the Garden of 
Olives. Apart from the consecration, which is essentially the 
same sacrifice as that of the cross, what are the ceremonies 
of the Mass but a most dramatic representation of the cir- 
cumstances attending the divine tragedy of Calvary ! In the 
Old Testament what strong themes for tragedy are furnished 
by the books of Judith, Job and Ruth! Where will you find 
more dramatic types of heroism if not in the exemplary lives 
of the Christian saints and martyrs ? " 

" I would like to have taken in the Passion Play at Ober- 
ammergau during my trip to Europe," said the stout passenger, 
" but my time was too short and I had to get back. I saw 
' Everyman ' at Steinway Hall a few years ago and enjoyed 
it very much. Such plays do a lot of good*." 

" They," said Fr. Michaels, " are a remnant of the mediaeval 
religious drama, which was divided into three classes: mys- 
teries, miracles and moralities. Mysteries were concerned 
principally with the mystery of man's redemption accomplished 



The Theater 133 

through our Lord's Incarnation, Death and Resurrection. 
They introduced patriarchal tableaux, e. g., Abraham sacri- 
ficing his only son Isaac, and various other Messianic proph- 
ecies confirming our Savior's mission. Miracle plays dealt 
with marvelous incidents taken from the lives of the saints 
and martyrs. It is amazing what scenic effects and optic de- 
lusions were accomplished in those days when mechanical stage 
contrivances were in their infancy. Moralities taught moral 
truths allegorically through the personification of the various 
virtues and vices. The seven capital sins with their opposite 
virtues usually formed the dramatis personam. Gluttony, e. g., 
is invited out to dine by Banquet. Afterwards he falls into 
the very disagreeable company of Colic, Gout and Dropsy. 
The moralities were gradually emancipated from church influ- 
ence and became more and more profane. The Troubadours 
kept increasing the comic element until immoralities would 
have been a more fitting title for those productions. The 
Herods, Judases, devils and vices soon gained greater popu- 
larity among the rabble than the saints, martyrs and personified 
virtues. Magistrates, bishops and even popes were insultingly 
travestied in farces and comedies. License finally reached its 
limit and evoked the most drastic measures on the part of the 
civil authorities." 

" The civil power ought to adopt a more stringent policy 
to-day in regard to some of the plays," commented the fat man. 

" Yes, indeed," rejoined Fr. Michaels. " Some of the mod- 
ern shows are remarkably bad, either on account of the things 
acted or recited, or owing to the indecent costumes in which 
shameless individuals have the brazen effrontery to appear. 
There are plays in which religion, the sacraments, especially 
matrimony, and all that we Catholics hold sacred, are exposed 
to raillery and contempt. In the cheap resorts and even in 
the more pretentious theaters scurrility is occasionally mis- 
taken for wit and vulgarity for dramatic art. So fond has the 
public become of novelty that the Thespian profession is now 
open to the pugilist, bigamist, burglar, and in fact to any 
mountebank who has gained notoriety. Special plays with 



134 Polemic Chat 

realistic scenes of prize-fights, the cracking of safes, etc., are 
composed to suit the special talent of these creatures who 
ought to avoid rather than court public gaze. Yet they pose 
as heroes and are starred throughout the country.. Is there 
anything better adapted to demoralize the rising generation? 
Why, take even the standard operas. Can you mention a 
single one the plot of which is not based upon moral obliquity ? 
According to all accounts the innuendo in one part of ' The 
Jewels of the Madonna ' is so lecherous that the actors and 
actresses daring to produce it should be given a jail sentence 
as well as a heavy fine. For us Catholics the same rules in 
regard to dancing apply also to the theater. A play bad 
in itself, furnishing the proximate occasion of sin, must be 
avoided. ' Let pastors,' says the II Plen. Bait. Council, ' pru- 
dently admonish the faithful to avoid theatres and dramatic 
plays which they know to be bad and full of danger. Let 
them, however, be careful, lest following too rigorous opin- 
ions they restrict the liberty of the Gospel. Because the laity 
may assist at plays in which there is neither scandal nor the 
danger of sin.' 

" The plays of Shakespeare, Tennyson and other reputable 
authors contain nothing as a general rule detrimental to faith 
or morals. Parents should ascertain the nature of the per- 
formance before allowing their children to witness it. This 
knowledge should be derived from prudent, competent persons. 
They may keep informed regarding the moral standard of 
plays through the daily press in which a special column is 
devoted to music and the drama. Catholics wishing to con- 
form to the spirit of the Church do not frequent the opera or 
the theater during Lent, Advent or any Sunday throughout 
the year." 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

WOMAN SUFFRAGE 

" What is the Church's attitude in regard to woman's 
rights ? " asked the portly gentleman. 

" The same as that of the American Constitution," replied 
Fr. Michaels. " She has the inalienable right to life, liberty 
and the pursuit of happiness. We place her upon an equality 
with man as far as the means of personal sanctification are 
concerned. In the Catholic Church ' there is neither male nor 
female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus' (Gal. iii, 28)." 

" But as to voting, don't you place her on a level with idiots 
and criminals ? " demanded the fat man. 

" Why, no," rejoined Fr. Michaels, " the vast majority of 
prelates and priests would place her in the same category with 
United States soldiers and sailors, who in certain states are 
excluded from voting. Would you say that the defenders of 
our country are on that account placed on a level with the 
criminal class ? " 

" Well, I think," said the portly gentleman, " that just as the 
Renaissance period discovered men, so the present progressive 
age discovered women." 

" Oh, pshaw," exclaimed the priest, " woman was discov- 
ered centuries before the present epoch. Why, she was very 
much in evidence in the Garden of Eden." 

" I believe," said the fat man, " that the Bible story of 
Mother Eve's disobedience is responsible for nine-tenths of the 
prejudice existing against women to-day." 

" I do not share in your belief," commented Fr. Michaels. 
" The Pagan nations lacked the story of her part in the down- 
fall of the human race, yet they invariably treated woman as 
the vilest of creatures. The Japanese will not allow her to 

135 



136 Polemic Chat 

even pray. She is simply permitted to sigh and grunt while 
man engages in prayer. Jews and Christians who possess the 
Biblical narrative of the Original Fall have invariably treated 
woman with the greatest respect. Patriarchs and prophets 
unite in proclaiming her excellence. Where will you find 
eulogies greater than those recorded in the Old Testament of 
Judith and Esther, Miriam and Ruth? Read the praises 
of the valiant woman in the book of Proverbs (xxxi). 
Rachel, Rebecca, and Sarah are presented to the Christian 
bride as models worthy of imitation. Catholic liturgy has en- 
shrined their names and virtues in the benediction and prayers 
of the nuptial mass. Eve's part in the Human Fall has cer- 
tainly not prejudiced us against woman, for Catholic theology 
regards her guilt as insignificant when compared^ to that of 
Adam. He was the head of the human race and therefore 
chiefly responsible for original sin and all its dire consequences. 
The introduction of sin into this vale of tears is invariably 
attributed to Adam, and not to Eve. ' Wherefore as by one 
man sin entered into the world ' . . . Whatever share Eve had 
in our guilt was more than counterbalanced by the part the 
Blessed Virgin had in our redemption." 

" The last century has produced some wonderful types of 
womanhood," said the fat man. " Madame de Stael, George 
Sand and George Eliot have certainly attained prominence in 
the literary field. Then in religion we have Mrs. Eddy, 
Madame Blavatsky and the Fox Sisters." 

"The novel writers mentioned were indeed clever," replied 
the priest. " As to the foundress of Christian Science, the 
expounder of theosophy and the promoters of spiritualism, I 
regard them as the rarest specimens of feminine humbug that 
the nineteenth century has produced. They devoted their 
time and talent to leading people astray. What benefit did 
these female mountebanks render mankind when compared 
with St. Catherine of Egypt, patroness of theologians, polem- 
ists, pulpit orators and philosophers? Your feminine roman- 
ticists should not be mentioned in the same breath with St. 
Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal, who founded hospitals and 



Woman Suffrage 137 

asylums for every human ailment throughout her kingdom. 
In this progressive age we hear of sentimentalists erecting in- 
firmaries for lame cats and dogs ! Consider the long list of 
Christian virgins, widows and martyrs, foundresses of relig- 
ious orders conspicuous for their erudition, piety and self- 
abnegation. Why, in presence of this galaxy of heroines our 
social uplifters and advocates of woman's rights dwindle into 
obscurity." 

" Do you ever allow women to preach in your churches ? " 
asked the fat man. 

" No," replied Fr. Michaels, smiling. " Our Catholic 
women must do their preaching chiefly by example. ' Let 
women keep silence in the churches,' says St. Paul, ' for it is 
not permitted them to speak, but to be subject. ... If they 
would learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. 
... It is a shame for a woman to speak in the church ' (I Cor. 
xiv). 

" St. Paul should not have placed an embargo on women 
preachers," remarked the portly passenger, " as most of them 
are endowed with the gift of tongue." 

" The Apostle," replied Fr. Michaels, " forbade them to 
teach or to use authority over man, as that would invert the 
order established by the Creator. ' Thou shalt be under thy 
husband's power and he shall have dominion over thee' (Gen. 
iii, 16)." 

" The English suffragettes do not seem to recognize the 
power or dominion of husbands," said the fat man. 

" Evidently not," rejoined the priest. " Think of the lives 
endangered by their fiendish attempt to burn the Dublin the- 
ater, in which the Prime Minister appeared. Destroying prop- 
erty and assaulting members of parliament with an axe will 
hardly advance the cause of woman suffrage. The British 
Government applied the proper remedy by inflicting a sentence 
of five years' penal servitude upon each of those female nui- 
sances. They are a disgrace to their sex." 

" What do you think the cause of this agitation among the 
women ? " asked the fat man. 



138 Polemic Chat 

" Socialism is back of the entire movement," replied the 
priest. " To be convinced of it, you need but read the pam- 
phlets issued by the Illinois Anti-Woman Suffrage Association, 
of which Mrs. C. F. Corbin is the president. Like Eliza Allen 
Starr, she is a convert from Unitarianism, and her essays upon 
socialism as it regards the status of woman are the most schol- 
arly that I have ever read. She proves conclusively that 
woman suffrage is the cornerstone of socialism. The monthly 
organ of the Church League of Woman's Suffrage in London 
recently had an article on ' Freedom and the Vote,' strongly 
advocating certain practices which are subject to criminal 
prosecution in every civilized country of the globe. The suf- 
fragette pamphlets scattered throughout London are resumes 
of ingeniously perverted physiology, pathology and sociology 
purporting to scientifically demonstrate the inferiority and 
vileness of man. The general trend of this Satanic, social- 
istic literature is to induce mankind to adopt canine ethics in 
regard to matrimony, and to look upon monogamous marriage 
as a mere conventionality that should be speedily supplanted 
by free love, the only panacea insuring permanent peace be- 
tween the sexes ! " 

" Oh," exclaimed the fat man, " our American suffragettes 
do not sanction such bestial views. I really do not think it a 
square deal to deprive women of their natural right to vote." 

" My dear sir," responded the priest, " suffrage, whether for 
man or woman, is not a natural, personal right." 

" What is it, then ? " asked the fat man. 

" It is a civic, territorial right, which the State can grant or 
deny as it deems best for the common good. Universal suf- 
frage often proves more of a curse than a blessing to a com- 
munity. What benefit, do you think, accrues to the State 
through the vote of vagabonds colonized in lodging houses a 
month before election by disreputable politicians? What is 
there to prevent women from being colonized in a similar man- 
ner in case they were enfranchised? It is simply a question 
of political expediency whether the public weal demands the 
extension of suffrage to women." 



Woman Suffrage 139 

" Well, I think that it does," replied the fat man, " for it 
would strengthen the hands of those endeavoring to deal effi- 
ciently with such evils as the white slave traffic." 

" Nonsense," exclaimed the priest, " if women only remained 
in their proper sphere, i. e., in the home circle, discharging 
faithfully the domestic duties which God has placed upon 
them, and for which nature has preeminently fitted them, 
instead of usurping the places of men in factories, stores and 
offices, the social evils would be greatly diminished. If our 
women become politicians and begin to gad about electioneer- 
ing, who will tend to the training and education of the chil- 
dren? I am most emphatically against woman suffrage, not 
because I deem her man's inferior intellectually, but because 
the family, and the important domestic duties incumbent upon 
wives, mothers and daughters are doomed to neglect when she 
enters the political arena." 

" Don't you think that woman suffrage would have a refining 
influence upon politics generally? " asked the fat man. 

" I do not," retorted the priest. " The very fact of her being 
physically weaker than man would diminish her moral inde- 
pendence. Unable to cope with him, she would naturally 
have recourse to all the blandishments, coquetry, cunning and 
intrigue of her sex, thus introducing into the political contest 
an additional element of moral corruption. We have occa- 
sionally observed feminine tactics in electing officers of their 
organizations, and in duplicity, wire-pulling and general crook- 
edness woman has mere man immeasurably surpassed. From 
the female politician may Heaven graciously protect us." 

" Want to be brushed off, sah ? " asked the porter. 

" No," growled the robust gentleman. " I prefer to get off 
in the usual way. Well, here we are in Pittsburg," he said, 
turning to the priest and extending his hand. " If I run up to 
Mackinac next season, I may pay you a visit." 

" You shall be always welcome," replied Fr. Michaels. 
" Meanwhile, if you give me your address, I will take the 
liberty of sending you a few Catholic books, the perusal of 
which may tend to bring you into the fold." 



CHAPTER XXIX 

CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD 

The morning after his arrival in Pittsburg Fr. Michaels 
repaired to St. Vincent's Abbey where he assisted at the ordi- 
nation of a young Benedictine. A few days later the newly 
ordained priest celebrated his first Mass on which occasion Fr. 
Michaels spoke in part as follows : 

" If in a priest's life there be any special time of jubilation, 
it must be when he is privileged to celebrate for the first time 
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. ' No act,' says St. Thomas, 
' is greater than the consecration of the body of Christ.' It is 
the most solemn act of our holy religion. It is showing the 
death of the Lord until He come and the application of His 
infinite merits to our souls. It is executing the divine injunc- 
tion : ' Do this in commemoration of me,' and fulfilling in part 
the prophecy of Malachy : ' In every place there is sacrifice 
and there is offered to my name a clean oblation.' 

" Assuredly the present occasion must be one of joy not 
only for the young celebrant, but also for those related to him 
by ties of kindred and friendship. How consoling for them 
the reflection that they now have one of their own daily 
pleading for them before the throne of infinite mercy ! The 
world, however, does not realize the value of the priesthood. 
Some are inclined to argue against the church from the im- 
perfections of its ministers. They forget that God appointed 
men and not angels as the heralds of His gospel. For, as 
the Apostle explains, ' they can condole with those who are 
in ignorance and error because they themselves are compassed 
with infirmity.' Hence at the oblation of the host the priest 
says : ' Accept, Almighty Father . . . this immaculate host 
which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer up to Thee . . . for my 

140 



Catholic Priesthood 141 

many sins, offenses and negligences.' Priests then, are human, 
and in every age and nation they have the infirmities of hu- 
man nature. Whether the priest be curate, pastor, prelate or 
pontiff, he never perfectly realizes the sacerdotal type, for that 
type is the God-man. Although the best of clergymen are 
poor imitations of their divine prototype Jesus Christ, yet in 
learning and virtue they as a body rise far above the average 
of men. It is much easier to attain perfection in the pro- 
fessional or commercial world than in the priesthood, for a 
perfect priest means another Christ, another God-man. The 
sacerdotal vocation is consequently as far above human pro- 
fessions as heaven is above earth. The priesthood is from 
God, a heavenly treasure deposited in fragile vases. The 
vase may be unworthy, but the value of the treasure depends 
not upon that of the vase. But are not a great many worth- 
less vases? Are there not a great many wicked priests? No, 
the number is relatively small. Wasn't there a Balaam among 
the prophets? a Caiphas among the high-priests? a Judas 
among the twelve Apostles? If, unfortunately, there may ap- 
pear at great intervals in the sanctuary, a wolf in sheep's cloth- 
ing, thank God we have an overwhelmingly large number of 
good priests who are a credit to themselves, an honor to the 
church and to religion. 

" People do not always appreciate the sacrifice and labor 
of the priest. He abandons the comforts of home, perhaps 
also the emoluments and glory of a brilliant career in the world 
in order to work for your salvation. The Church imposes 
upon him a life of celibacy that he may serve God with less 
restraint and with undivided heart. ' I would have you to be 
without solicitude,' says St. Paul. ' He that is without a wife 
is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he 
may please God.' He is daily engaged in offering prayer and 
sacrifice for the people, in preaching and exhorting, in admin- 
istering the sacraments. Why should not the people in turn 
pray for him, lest perchance, after he has preached to others, 
he himself become a castaway ? 

"Abstracting from his human frailties, just think for a 



14 2 Polemic Chat 

moment of the awful power and dignity with which even the 
obscurest priest is invested — a power and dignity surpassing 
even that of the angels. For bear in mind that priests and 
not angels are the dispensers of God's sacred mysteries and 
the expounders of His law. To the priests and not to angels 
our Savior said : ' Do this in commemoration of me, thereby 
empowering them to change the bread and wine into His ador- 
able Body and Blood. To priests and not to angels, He de- 
clared : ' Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven 
them. Whose sins you shall retain, they are retained/ The 
priests are the physicians of the soul. ' Is there any man sick 
among you/ says St. James, ' let him call in the priests of the 
church and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in 
the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the 
sick man ; and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he be in 
sins, they shall be forgiven him/ The priest is the deputed 
instrument in the hands of God to minister to all our spiritual 
wants from the cradle to the grave. Scarcely are we ushered 
into this world than he pours upon us the salutary waters of 
regeneration making us God's adopted children and heirs to 
His heavenly kingdom. If we have the misfortune to forfeit 
God's friendship in the pursuit of the carnal pleasures and 
vanities of this world, it is the warning voice of the priest that 
awakens our conscience and recalls us to the path of duty. 
The absolution of the priest restores us to God's grace and 
friendship in the tribunal of penance provided we approach it 
with the proper dispositions. He nourishes our soul with the 
Bread of angels in the Holy Eucharist. Finally when our 
course is run and the shadows of death are drawing near, it 
is the priest who visits us in our illness, strengthens us with 
the consolations of religion, and with the last sacraments forti- 
fies us for our journey into eternity. 

" The life of the true priest is a continual sacrifice whether it 
be spent in the exercise of parochial duties or in the monot- 
onous function of professor in the class room. No matter 
what portion of the Lord's vineyard may be assigned to him 
for cultivation, he has his crosses and trials to bear. It is only 



Catholic Priesthood 143 

God's saving grace and his constant cooperation with it that 
will assure his faithful perseverance to the end. 

" If it be deemed a privilege for an American citizen to 
represent his government at one of the foreign courts, how 
much greater the prerogative to represent the court of heaven 
among all nations of the earth ! How much more exalted the 
honor to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ ! ' We are ambas- 
sadors of Christ/ says St. Paul, ' Christ as it were exhorting 
by us/ The jurisdiction of earthly representatives is local, 
but the authority of God's ministers is universal. ' Go ye into 
the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature/ 
When the priest announces the gospel we know that he is 
vested with authority and we believe that we hear, as it were, 
from the tabernacle the voice of Him who declared : * All 
power is given to me in heaven and on earth. As the Father 
hath sent me, I also send you. He that heareth you, heareth 
me. He that despiseth you, despiseth me/ 

" Learn then to respect the dignity of the priest and to 
appreciate the good work he is called upon to perform in the 
exercise of his ministry. Let no person wantonly assail his 
character in your presence. For in proportion as his reputa- 
tion is lessened in sight of the community, his influence for 
good is weakened. Respect the priest as the ambassador of 
your Divine Redeemer. Honor him as the minister of God, 
as a friend, as a father who has nothing so much at heart as 
your eternal welfare. Upon the spiritual interest he takes in 
those entrusted to him depends his own salvation. 

" Finally, pray for your priests and especially for this young 
Benedictine Father who to-day celebrates his first Mass at 
which we deem it both an honor and a privilege to assist. 
Ask Almighty God to keep him ever faithful in the discharge 
of his duties and to crown his labors in the priestly ministry 
with success." 



CHAPTER XXX 

A CATHOLIC (?) SOCIALIST 

The journey by rail from Pittsburg to Buffalo is 270 miles 
and takes about 7^ hours. For the first ten miles the scenery 
along the route is by no means entrancing. The monotony of 
belching chimneys is broken by occasional glimpses of the 
Allegheny river paralleling the railroad for quite a distance. 
The traveler breathes a sigh of relief when his train, after 
having passed scores of foundries and smelting works, finally 
emerges into the open country with its vine clad hills and azure 
sky, free from stifling smoke and noxious vapors. For a 
stretch of nearly one hundred miles pumping oil seems to be 
the main industry of the valley. At almost every mile an oil 
derrick may be noticed in operation. Fr. Michaels left Pitts- 
burg on the afternoon train. He had the seat to himself 
for about an hour when he was obliged to share it with a pas- 
senger who boarded the car at Kittanning. The newcomer 
was not very attractive. Before sitting down he removed 
his coat and hat, exposing to view a rather unshapely head 
thickly covered with tawny hair which he wore a la pompadour. 
The most conspicuous thing about his apparel was a flaming 
red necktie that perfectly matched his blotched complexion. 
Fr. Michael was finishing compline and could not help ob- 
serving how rudely his fellow passenger kept peering at the 
open breviary. At length unable longer to restrain his curios- 
ity, the newcomer blurted out: 

" Say, you're a priest, ain't you ? " 

" Yeh." 

"A Catholic priest?" 

" Uh huh," replied Fr. Michaels, evidently trying to discour- 
age further conversation. 

M4 ■ 



A Catholic (?) Socialist 145 

" I'm a Catholic too. Here's my card," continued the new- 
comer, presenting a small pasteboard bearing the inscription : 

ALOYS BENGL 

"I would have taken you for a socialist," said Fr. Michaels, 
glancing furtively at the red cravat. 

" That's correct," said Mr. Bengl. " I'm a Catholic social- 
ist. Our party has no more to do with religion than has tariff, 
free-trade, populism or prohibition. Socialism is an economic, 
bread and butter question." 

" A Catholic socialist," replied Fr. Michaels, laughing, " is 
rather a curious combination. Someone has compared him 
to a guinea-pig which is neither a pig, nor does he come from 
Guinea." 

" Evidently you know very little about socialism," rejoined 
Mr. Bengl, coloring. Then fishing forth a folded paper from 
his pistol pocket, he continued : " Here is our platform 
adopted by our National Convention held in Chicago in 1908. 
Kindly listen to this plank : ' The Socialist Party is primarily 
an economic and political movement. It is not concerned with 
matters of religious belief.' " 

" I had the pleasure," said Fr. Michaels, " of listening, 
recently, to a very able address by Mr. David Goldstein who at 
one time was a most enthusiastic comrade and is now a most 
exemplary Catholic. In his lecture he explained how that 
wonderful plank after a most strenuous debate was inserted 
into the platform by a majority of one ! Delegate Lewis did 
not consider religion a good campaign subject, and if men- 
tioned at all it would be better to tell the truth than appear 
before the country as liars and hypocrites. Berger, Hunter 
and Hillquit, however, decided that the plank would be tempt- 
ing bait for such men as you, a great vote catcher, and their 
view prevailed. Of course the comrades love Goldstein about 
as much as the devil does holy water. You ought to get his 
book : ' Socialism, the Nation of Fatherless Children.' It is 
an excellent up-to-date exposition of socialistic fallacies, and 



146 Polemic Chat 

should be in the library of every patriotic American irrespective 
of creed. He proves most conclusively that socialism is 
fundamentally atheistic, that it regards the present marriage 
relation as a capitalistic institution and must eventually yield to 
the bestial doctrine of free love. The movement is not only 
anti-Christian, but also anti-American. Its leaders have re- 
peatedly declared that the two curses of our country, capital- 
ism and Christianity must go before socialism can triumph. 
The Lord forbid that we may ever see its scarlet emblem of 
harlotry and bloodshed waving over our glorious country." 

" Oh, I know," said Mr. Bengl, " that there is quite a num- 
ber of infidels among the socialists, just as you will find them 
in any political party. But to assert that socialism is anti- 
Christian because some of its advocates are soy is absurd. 
That would convict the two old parties. The father of JefTer- 
sonian democracy was an infidel, in fact the only president 
thus far who was not a church member. Then there was 
Ingersoll and other agnostics among the Republicans." 

" The Church," replied Fr. Michaels, " condemns socialism 
not precisely because 99 per cent of the comrades, according 
to Hillquit's admission, happen to be atheists, but because its 
fundamental teachings are diametrically opposed to the tenets 
of Christianity proclaiming the inviolable rights of private 
ownership, the sacredness of the marriage bond, the natural 
and primary rights of the parents to educate their children." 

" All our poverty and misery," said Bengl, " arise from 
private ownership of property which should be confiscated and 
become the common property of all under State administra- 
tion." 

" A good deal of our economic misery," replied Fr. Mich- 
aels, " springs from shiftlessness and intemperance on the part 
of labor, greed and luxury on the part of capital, and lack 
of religion on the part of mankind in general- ' Seek ye first 
the kingdom of God and His justice and all these things shall 
be added unto you.' There is the solution proposed by our 
Divine Redeemer. It is the neglect of this important duty that 
causes all our trouble. If instead of squandering his wages in 



A Catholic (?) Socialist 147 

gambling and drink the workman purchases a homestead, that 
represents the sweat of his brow. What right has the State 
to take it away from him ? The socialist remedy is worse than 
the disease. To be cured of a headache we need not undergo 
decapitation." 

" God never gave the earth to a few individuals, but to 
the whole human race," rejoined Bengl. " He gave man do- 
minion over the entire earth. He gave us collective owner- 
ship, the very foundation of socialism. Universal collective 
ownership and universal cooperation is our motto. On this 
platform we stand and defy refutation." 

" True," said Fr. Michaels, " God gave mankind in gen- 
eral dominion over the whole earth and did not assign parts 
of it to individuals. As Leo XIII wisely indicated, God left 
the limits of private ownership to be fixed by private industry 
and by the laws of different races. Man must cultivate the 
soil before it produces ; he must leave the impress of his own 
personality upon it by the sweat of his brow. When he buys 
a piece of land with his hard earned savings, that land be- 
comes his wages in another form. To confiscate it would be 
stealing the fruits of his labor. Do you own any real estate, 
Mr. Bengl?" 

" N-no, I don't," stammered Bengl. 

" I never met a socialist who did," commented the priest. 
" Although that doesn't seem to hinder the comrades from 
owning several wives. That was a rather nasty case brought 
against National Secretary Barnes in Chicago. Of course the 
socialist wedding of Dr. Herron, former professor of the Chi- 
cago University is notorious. The real dyed-in-the-wool so- 
cialists regard God and His Church as their greatest enemy. 
He decreed for all time : ' Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt 
not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his house, nor his field 
. . . nor anything that is his.' In these commandments you 
have the condemnation of socialism that would fain right 
a wrong by committing a greater wrong. It would remove 
injustice by wholesale robbery. The amelioration of social 
conditions is to be found in the observance of Christian ethics 



148 Polemic Chat 

and not in their violation. The comrades exhort us ' to leave 
heaven to the angels and sparrows/ and seek heaven on earth 
by the gratification of the passions. Christianity teaches the 
gospel of fraternal love, justice and domestic purity; socialism 
foments class hatred, theft and prostitution. Its great am- 
bition is to control the organized labor movement. Wherever 
a strike occurs as e. g. in Lawrence, Mass., you will invariably 
find socialist agitators inciting the strikers to violence and 
destruction of property. Like the cuckoo the socialistic bird 
would lay its pestiferous eggs in a union incubator expecting 
organized labor to hatch them out. Fortunately the most of 
our labor leaders realize that their worthy cause has nothing 
to gain but everything to lose by the cancer of socialism." 

"Don't you believe in municipal ownership?", asked Mr. 
Bengl. 

" Yes, of certain public utilities," replied Fr. Michaels, 
" such as light, water, telegraph and transportation. To ob- 
viate strikes and the consequent inconvenience to the public, I 
believe that the government should establish a minimum wage 
to be augmented or modified periodically according as the cost 
of living increases or diminishes. Of course the comrades 
assure us that when the millennium of socialism arrives men, 
women and children will be perfect. As a writer tersely ex- 
pressed it, ' when each one owns all, nobody steals ; when all 
are comrades no one wrangles ; when everyone has all he can 
drink, nobody gets drunk; when all women are common, no 
one commits adultery; when all are bosses, every man obeys; 
when every appetite is satisfied, all men are angels.' You can- 
not stand upon your socialistic platform, Mr. Bengl, and re- 
main a Catholic." 

" Why not? " asked the latter. 

" Because," replied the priest, " it is morally rotten." 



CHAPTER XXXI 

VOCATION 

Fr. Michaels left Buffalo Wednesday night at nine o'clock 
on the Northland. He retired early and arose the. next morn- 
ing before the boat reached Cleveland. The voyage on the 
Detroit and St. Clair Rivers winding in and out like a ribbon 
between verdure-clad shores reminded him of a trip on the 
Grand Canal of Venice. He could not help but notice the em- 
phatic contrast between the American and Canadian banks, the 
former having decidedly the advantage with its hotels, summer 
cottages and well trimmed lawns stretching down to the 
water's edge. What a pity the tourist of meager purse could 
not subsist for at least a few days on sunshine and scenery. 
The attractive features of the trip were painfully marred by 
the war prices extorted for meals in the dining-room. It was 
with feelings of real joy that he landed the next day towards 
noon at Mackinac and proceeded to the rectory. 

" Welcome home," said the housekeeper. " That convert 
has been calling up nearly every day since your departure to 
know when you would return. It would be a blessing if she 
left the island." 

" Why? " asked Fr. Michaels. 

" Because," replied the housekeeper, " she is causing too much 
gossip. Her frequent visits to the rectory have been noticed. 
Last Wednesday she tried to drown herself and it is rumored 
that somebody wrote to the bishop telling him that she tried 
to commit suicide on account of the priest ! " 

Fr. Michaels looked serious. " The bishop is a sensible 
man," he said at length. "If the writer signed his name, he 
will be given a chance to prove his assertion. If it is one of 

149 



150 Polemic Chat 

those cowardly, contemptible, anonymous communications, the 
bishop will consign it to the waste-basket. Tell me about her 
attempted suicide." 

" Well," continued the housekeeper, " last Wednesday after- 
noon the Minchione boys were strolling along the beach near 
British Landing and saw her standing on the edge of the 
pier. They noticed her throw her handbag into the water. 
They started to run towards her, but while they were still a 
hundred feet away she calmly removed her hat, threw it after 
the pocket-book and plunged into -the water. Both boys 
jumped after her and brought her ashore. Then one of them 
began a search for her pocket-book. Exhausted from her 
struggle and half fainting with excitement she pulled herself 
to her feet, exclaiming : ' Oh, please don't look for it ; there's 
nothing in it of any value.' But Ralph managed to find it and 
gave it to her." 

Just then the door-bell rang and the would-be suicide was 
ushered into the parlor. She looked ten years older. Fr. 
Michaels made no comment on her appearance. 

" I had quite a lengthy interview with the Archbishop re- 
garding your marriage," he said. " His Grace declared that 
if it be proven by documentary evidence that your former 
husband, John Betruger, was baptized, even though there re- 
main some doubt as to the validity of his baptism, and it is 
certain that you were not baptized when you married him, then 
owing to the impediment — disparity of cult — your marriage 
can be pronounced null and void. If on the other hand, it 
can be shown that he was never baptized, or if nothing can 
be ascertained regarding the fact of his baptism, and from 
an extra judicial investigation it is clear that the interpellations 
would be practically impossible, hurtful or useless, then a dis- 
pensation from them may be obtained from Rome, and you 
will be declared free to marry a Catholic, -presupposing, of 
course, that you are already one yourself." 

" Well, Father," she said in quivering tones, " I won't annoy 
you any further with my marriage case." After fumbling 
about in her chatelaine she drew forth a water-stained clip- 



Vocation 151 

ping. It was a brief account of poor Paxton's tragic demise. 
" I suppose you saw this ? " she asked. 

" Oh, yes," replied the priest. " I was in Chicago when it 
happened." 

" His death," she continued, " has not altered my purpose 
of entering the church. I shall never marry again and am 
really in a quandary just what to do. There seem to be only 
two vocations for women — either marry or enter a convent. 
Nobody has respect for an old maid." 

" Where did you get those absurd notions ? " asked Fr. 
Michaels. " Certainly not from Mrs. Grebma, because she 
knows better." 

" No," replied Miss Seymour, " I have not broached the 
subject to her." 

" Well," said Fr. Michaels, " I cannot account for the false 
idea entertained by even some Catholics, that single blessed- 
ness in the world is inferior to the marriage state. Long be- 
fore the establishment of religious orders St. Paul declared: 
' He that giveth his virgin in marriage doeth well, and he that 
giveth her not doeth better.' According to the Council of 
Trent, ' if anyone says that it is not a better and more blessed 
thing to remain in virginity or celibacy than to be joined in 
marriage, let him be anathema/ We Catholics believe that 
marriage is good, virginity or celibacy in the world better, and 
in the convent or monastery best of all. A woman in the 
world not bound by vows may be individually more perfect 
than a cloistered nun, if she loves God more, but the nun 
is in a more perfect state. The convent, with its enclosure, 
regular prayers and other spiritual exercises, implies to a 
greater extent than in the world the absence of temptation and 
makes detachment permanent — these two conditions which 
usually insure the perfect love of God. Considering the mar- 
ried state, celibate life in the world or in the convent as to 
individuals, the order of comparison may be reversed. Matri- 
mony is the vocation of the majority, and in the language of 
the Apostle, ' it is a great sacrament ; but I speak in Christ 
and in the Church.' St. Paul evidently alludes to Catholic and 



152 Polemic Chat 

not mixed marriages. For those lacking a divine call religious 
life would be the worst state imaginable." 

"What do you understand by a vocation, Father?" asked 
Miss Seymour. 

" Vocation," replied Fr. Michaels, " is derived from vocare 
to call. It is a summons or call to some particular state or 
profession enabling one to preserve grace here, and to obtain 
everlasting happiness hereafter. The vocations of organized 
Christian society are the following three : the secular, ecclesi- 
astical and religious. The first is based on the observance of 
the commandments; the second on the divine prerogatives 
of the priesthood and clerical duties ; the third on the observ- 
ance of the evangelical counsels. ' Everyone hath his proper 
gift from God; one after this manner and another after that. 
As the Lord hath distributed to everyone, as God hath called 
everyone so let him walk. He gave some (to be) apostles, 
and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some 
pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the 
work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of 
Christ.' God who has established by His providence the di- 
versity of employments, distributes them differently by His 
wisdom. He designs some for one occupation and some for 
another. Hence He endows men with different inclinations 
and natural abilities, corporal as well as spiritual. He also 
distributes amongst them His graces diversely according to 
their respective needs. We all should follow that vocation 
which we sincerely believe to be most conformable to God's 
will and for which He has endowed us with the most aptitude 
and inclination." 

" And supposing we don't follow our vocation ? " demanded 
Miss Seymour. 

" To neglect one's vocation," replied Fr. Michaels, " strictly 
speaking does not imply any sin whatever, for counsels impose 
no obligation. In this they radically differ from precepts. 
Yet the person neglecting to follow his vocation is hardly free 
from some fault on account of the danger to which he exposes 



Vocation 153 

his eternal salvation. He would not be free from grievous 
sin should he neglect to embrace the religious life, if firmly 
convinced that it was the only means of saving his soul. 
According to St. Liguori, persons morally certain of their 
religious vocation, yet who would fain persuade themselves that 
they can reach heaven just as easily in a secular pursuit, run 
great risk. They deprive themselves of many graces which 
God would have given them in the state to which He called 
them. Hence they encounter greater difficulties in resisting 
temptation." 

"What are the signs of a religious vocation?" asked Miss 
Seymour. 

" Oh, natural fitness for religious life in general, and a 
special liking for the rule and discipline of some religious 
community in particular," responded Fr. Michaels. " The can- 
didate for religious life must not be fond of dazzling jewelry 
or gorgeous raiment, since she makes a vow of poverty. Her 
heart must not be longing for the ballroom, theater parties, 
receptions, joy rides and like amusements which would be in- 
compatible with her vow of chastity. She must not be anxious 
to have her own way, but be gifted with an agreeable, sub- 
missive disposition, because by her vow of obedience she 
surrenders what we cling to most tenaciously — the sense of 
being our own master. Finally she must be drawn to the con- 
vent by proper motives, as e. g. because it seems to her the 
easiest way of being saved, God's glory, or the salvation of 
others. It is always best to consult some prudent and disin- 
terested person in a matter of so great importance." 

" Do you think that any convent would take me ? " anxiously 
demanded the young lady. 

" The House of the Good Shepherd," replied Fr. Michaels, 
" would certainly accept you upon my recommendation. If 
you wish, I will give you a letter of introduction to the Mother 
Superior. For the present, your vocation is to learn the cate- 
chism thoroughly and pray that God may make known to you 
His will. After you have spent a few months in the religious 



154 Polemic Chat 

atmosphere of the convent and have become a member of the 
Church, you can seek advice from your spiritual director. He 
will assist you in deciding what path in life God wishes you to 
follow." 



THE END 



DEC 3 1912 



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